Alabama football and Tennessee sit in similar spots.

Both teams lost to an unranked team two weeks ago. Then this past weekend, both the Crimson Tide and Vols each played another unranked team close, ultimately winning in the end.

Now, No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will face No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC) at Neyland Stadium.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack each fielded questions about Tennessee on Monday before the game.

“Josh Heupel has just done a fantastic job over the last few years with their program,” Wommack said. “I think they have continued to improve the overall talent level of their roster. I think they are playing with more depth as a football team.”

Here are some of the other things the coaches said about the Vols.

Kalen DeBoer

The main question DeBoer took about the Vols centered on quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

“I think he’s got a live arm, extremely talented,” DeBoer said. “You can tell that they’ve got the skill on the outside to where they can hit the home run and make big plays anytime. I think a lot of it is just trying to disrupt him to where the continuity and the flow is just not consistent, and that’s gonna be any quarterback. Every week, that’s the goal is try to just really cause some chaos and change things up on them.”

DeBoer noted how Tennessee gets into its tempo off positive plays, so the key is making sure the Vols don’t get into a rhythm.

“Just like any offense, that’s what you’re trying to do,“ DeBoer said. ”(Iamaleava’s) talented. You can see it’s there. He’s still, I think, growing and developing, and we’ve just got to make sure we disrupt him enough and make sure we’re showing pictures and also getting bodies on bodies on the outside to where we make life hard like we would want to any other opponent.”

Kane Wommack

Wommack highlighted Tennessee’s “explosive playmakers.”

The first one he mentioned was running back Dylan Sampson. Wommack called him “elite.” Sampson has rushed for 15 touchdowns this season.

“What he’s been able to do, I think he’s dynamic with the ball in his hand,“ Wommack said. ”He’s got really good patience in the run schemes. He will make guys miss at the point of contact, constantly creating yards after contact as well.”

Wommack didn’t name anyone else, but he mentioned “explosive athletes on the outside.”

“They’re a team that on any given down can create an explosive play,“ Wommack said. ”So that’s something that we’re going to have to be very mindful of. We’re going to have to be very thorough as a defense. I think ultimately it’s going to be about our consistency, doing the same high-level job over and over again in order to play at an optimal level on Saturday.”

Nick Sheridan

Sheridan cited size and athleticism as the two areas that stand out to him about Tennessee’s front seven.

“There’s depth up front,“ Sheridan said. ”They’re very well-coached. I have familiarity with coaches on that staff and have a tremendous amount of respect for them. But I think the depth, the size, the speed, the athleticism, they’re excellent and obviously have been very productive.”

Sheridan also praised the Vols for being strong in big moments, such as short-yardage situations, red zone opportunities and more.

“They’ve really risen up and made some really quality plays in some critical moments that have kept teams out of the end zone,” Sheridan said. “It’s impressive, both for their coaches to get their players to perform at a high level in those moments and certainly for the players to execute at those times. It’s been impressive to see on film.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.