Geimere Latimer to Play Familiar, Yet Surprising Position in Zac Alley's Defense

Seeing West Virginia land Wisconsin defensive back transfer Geimere Latimer out of the transfer portal wasn't all that surprising. Once his younger brother, Amari, committed and signed with WVU to play running back, it was a move everyone expected.

I've been looking over the official roster every day to see who gets added, subtracted, and what positions the newcomers are listed as. Geimere Latimer was one I was super curious about, given how he primarily played outside at Jacksonville State but saw 97% of his snaps with Wisconsin come at nickel this past season.

Snaps by year, by position

Wisconsin 2025: 353 (slot), 58 (box), 8 (free safety), 1 (wide corner)

Jacksonville State 2024: 390 (wide corner), 96 (box), 37 (slot), 28 (free safety)

Jacksonville State 2023: 168 (wide corner), 28 (slot), 17 (box), 4 (free safety)

Latimer played his best when lined up wide, so my hunch was that Zac Alley would primarily play him there, considering that's where he lined him up during his only season with him in 2023. It's also where he's played his best football. He had a 62.6 coverage grade at Wisconsin, while posting an 80.9 (limited snaps) and 72.5 at Jax State, per PFF.

To my surprise, WVU is officially listing Latimer as a nickel/sam, alongside UNLV transfer Andrew Powdrell, who also has a background of being an outside guy, and a pair of freshmen, Emory Snyder and Miles Khatri.

Is he exclusively a nickel?

Sep 20, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Geimere Latimer II (1) during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

I don't think so. When you look at what West Virginia has at corner, there's a legitimate reason to be concerned. I'm not going to predict that the room will perform poorly, but there are only three guys who have legit college experience — Chams Diagne, Rayshawn Reynolds, and Da'Mun Allen — the latter two coming up from the JUCO ranks.

Latimer's physicality is likely one reason they will start him out at nickel. It's a key position in this defense, and Fred Perry's just don't grow on trees. You have to have some size and some experience there, and the other three options (Powdrell, Snyder, and Khatri) only check one of those two boxes.

It is surprising, but it also makes sense, given that he is coming off a season in which he mostly played nickel. If WVU can get a fourth corner to emerge and the top three live up to expectations, then perhaps they will be able to keep Latimer there instead of moving him around.

Snaps by year, by position

Is he exclusively a nickel?

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