After a rocking start, the Alabama Crimson Tide is steadily climbing up the recruiting rankings for the 2021 class. As things stand, that class currently at No. 24 (No. 6 in the SEC) according to 247Sports and No. 27 (No. 7) according to Rivals.com.
With eight current commitments, Roll Tide Wire decided to break those pledges down player-by-player, starting with five-star offensive tackle JC Latham out of IMG Academy in Florida.
JC Latham, Offensive Tackle
Height: 6-6 / Weight: 305
High School: IMG Academy (Fla.)
Ranking (247Sports comp): 5-star / No. 17 overall / No. 5 OT / No. 4 FLA
Ranking (247Sports): 5-star / No. 3 overall / No. 1 OT / No. 1 FLA
Ranking (Rivals): 4-star / No. 75 overall / No. 13 OT / No. 10 FLA
Ranking (ESPN): 5-star / No. 3 overall / No. 2 OT / No. 2 FLA
Analysis: JC Latham was an extremely important addition for Alabama’s 2021 class. The 2019 group of offensive linemen while were signed included several impressive players, including Evan Neal, Pierce Quick, Amari Kight and several others, but the 2020 class lacked star power and numbers.
Latham was an excellent start in building the Crimson Tide’s future depth and competition with Alex Leatherwood, Deonte Brown, Landon Dickson and Chris Owens all entering their senior seasons.
He’s long, he’s athletic and he’s got the ability to be an effective blocker in the run game and protecting the quarterback. The only thing Latham needs to continue to do is add experience as a full-time offensive lineman after transitioning from the defensive line.
It’ll be interesting to see how Nick Saban and company continue to address the offensive line with the currently class, but regardless, the Tide landed a good one in Latham.
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