Jah-Marien Latham attended Pickens County High School, which is approximately 40 miles from the University of Alabama campus. He always wanted to play for his hometown team. However, when Nick Saban retired in January, Latham faced a decision: use the transfer portal to find a new school, or stay and play for the Crimson Tide under a new coaching staff.
“I ain’t ever been too much on trying to stray away from pressure,” Latham said. “I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to come to Alabama coming out of high school, regardless of what everybody else did. I feel like, if I’m leaving now, what am I really doing? I’ve been here for four years and dedicated my whole life to this program, so why would I leave now and go to a whole ‘nother program. I feel like that’s not holding up my loyalty here just for the staff and the players in general.”
Latham wanted to remain loyal to Alabama after four seasons with the Crimson Tide. But he also realized that whether he stayed or left, he was going to have to introduce himself to new coaches regardless.
However, it did assist that his position coach, Freddie Roach, transitioned from the old to the new coaching staff under head coach Kalen DeBoer. According to Latham, Roach was one of the ones who assured the players that the Alabama program would not disappear during the changeover and uncertainty.
“At the end of the day, you committed to the University of Alabama, and the University of Alabama has committed to you,” Roach said to the players during the coaching search. “We’re going to be fine anyway. With tools like this and an AD like Greg Byrne, you’ll be able to discover the best football coaches available. And that is exactly what we did.
Working with new coaches who have a different defensive strategy enables Latham to move into a new role. Under Saban, Latham was a fairly standard defensive lineman. In new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s defense, Latham will play in the “Bandit” position, which is a combination of a defensive lineman and an edge rusher.
Before the former South Alabama head coach joined DeBoer’s staff, Latham was unaware of Wommack. But in one of their first sessions, when Wommack was presenting his approach, he showed footage of what he wanted, followed by clips of Latham and how he fit into this new defensive.
The fifth-year defender lost approximately 10 pounds this offseason, slimming down to better match his new role in the defense and changing his jersey number from 93 to 20. Latham has had to wait his turn at Alabama, appearing in only one game during his rookie season in 2020. He redshirted in 2021 after playing in only four games. His playing time climbed to 12 appearances in 2021, after playing rotational minutes in all 14 games last year.
In his Crimson Tide career, Latham has 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Some fans may not be as acquainted with Latham as other players on the squad, but in Wommack’s defense, he’s primed for a great season in 2024.
“I went to a small high school, so I always feel like I’ve slipped under the radar. So it always inspired me to work extra hard,” Latham explained. “Even in this scenario, I still feel like I’m flying beneath the radar. Not many people know about me, but you’ll find out this year.”