Report: Alabama Linebacker Returning for 2026 Season

Jah-Marien Latham will play in his seventh year with the Crimson Tide after missing almost all of last season with a neck injury.

The Crimson Tide players and coaches work during practice Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. Alabama defensive lineman Jah-Marien Latham (20) moves between turns in a drill. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alabama Wolf linebacker Jah-Marien Latham will be returning to the Crimson Tide for the 2026 season, per The Tuscaloosa News.

Latham missed most of the season after sustaining a neck injury during practice in September. He was transported by an ambulance to UAB St. Vincent’s Hospital for further evaluation and care and Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer shared on Sept. 29 that he was done for the year.

DeBoer was asked on Nov. 17 whether or not a medical redshirt had been assigned to Latham, but he was uncertain "as what the future holds" and that "obviously there would have to be something that's done from the NCAA level" to acquire it.

The dilemma was that Latham was already a sixth-year player last season, as he received a redshirt after the 2021 season and got an extra year following COVID-19 in 2020. But this redshirt coming via medical reasons is different than a typical one.

Latham is the program's longest-tenured player, as he was a freshman in 2020. In other words, he is the only player on the Crimson Tide's roster who was a member of Alabama's most recent College Football Playoff National Championship victory.

"You feel the sense of urgency from Zeebo Latham," Wommack told The Tuscaloosa News on Wednesday. "I don't think people realize how important Jah-Marien was to us a year ago. He can play our Wolf. He can play our Bandit position. He can play 3-technique in a pinch. And when we lost him, we lost a lot of backup depth and versatility that would would have loved to have, you know what I mean, as we went into the rest of the season."

The 23-year-old appeared in 44 games across his six seasons, tallying 44 tackles and 2.5 sacks with a fumble recovery. He's primarily played Wolf during the last two seasons for the Crimson Tide, but has spent time at Bandit and even played as an interior defensive lineman in passing situations.

Latham's best season came in 2024, as he totaled 27 tackles, including two for loss (-9 yards) and one sack (-8 yards). He also contributed three quarterback hurries and recovered a fumble across 11 starts and 12 games of action.

He's an Alabama native from Reform and played high school football at Pickens County, where the former four-star recruit was ranked as the No. 25 defensive lineman in the class of 2020 and the No. 9 prospect in the state.

Latham was one of two Alabama Wolf linebackers to sustain injuries last season, as Qua Russaw missed a good chunk of games with a broken foot. Yhonzae Pierre filled in for both of them and finished as the Crimson Tide's leader in sacks and tackles for loss. Pierre forgoed the 2026 NFL Draft and will also be returning to UA next season.

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