This week, our 2025 Alabama Preview continues with a look at the defensive line.
As stated in previous articles in this series, in recent years, we’ve waited until fall camp began to take a look at the upcoming team, giving the coaches every possible second to finalize a pre-camp roster. This has led to content droughts, however, so we’ve chosen to break up the 2025 Alabama team preview into eight segments, following our traditional eight-category game previews.
This week, we are focusing on the two defensive tackle positions and the Bandit end position. While Alabama’s base defense is technically a 4-2-5 Swarm, the Wolf position is almost identical to a traditional Jack/SLB outside linebacker spot, and will therefore be included in the linebacker preview next week.
Fans who are familiar with our preview articles know we rate each unit and place them in one of five categories: Excellent, Very Good, Average, Fair and Poor. New for 2025, we do a little advance scouting at the player level as well; if there is something that stands out, good or bad, it is noted for the players.
No walk-ons are rated in these articles – outside of the Special Teams preview, which will be the final in this series – unless we believe the walk-on in question has a real chance of making the actual playing rotation, not just playing in blowout situations. Players are listed below in the way we believe they finished spring camp. For players who were not yet on the team in the spring, they are listed at the end of their respective categories.
We will separate the Bandit end candidates from the defensive candidates and profile them separately here.
DEFENSIVE LINE (Rating: Av)
Starting tackles – Tim Keenan III, James Smith
1. #96 Tim Keenan III (Sr., 6-2, 325)
Strengths: A-plus-plus character, uses low center of gravity well to generate leverage, can be quicker than he looks when getting upfield
Weaknesses: Heavily affected by stamina and snap counts, limited laterally in run defense and can get redirected
Analysis: We’ve talked about guys that look like the prototype, and if you wanted to see an old-school nosetackle, Tim Keenan would fit the bill absolutely. He’s a boxy-built, short-stature tackle who brings thunderous power with his hands and uses leverage technique about as well as anyone in the SEC. Keenan is a team leader and would seem almost guaranteed to wind up a team captain. Despite not looking the part of a modern defensive tackle in a 4-man front, Keenan gets reliable pressure up front and uses his quick hands and knowledge of the game to redirect throwing lanes. He’s at his best, though, when Bama can keep his snap loads to only about 50 percent of total defensive plays. Whether the Crimson Tide has enough depth to pull that off in 2025 remains to be seen. He should be a mid-/late-round draft pick at worst because of the intangibles alone.
2. #23 James Smith (Jr., 6-3, 295)
Strengths: Length and ability to move and make plays laterally, plays taller than the stat sheet indicates, explosive first step when he plays mad
Weaknesses: Needs more consistency snap-to-snap, doesn’t always get upfield when it’s needed
Analysis: Smith could wind up in the NFL next year with a solid junior season. He found his way in 2024 almost out of necessity, when Jeheim Oatis basically disappeared from the playing rotation at the midseason mark. Smith can play all the roles in this defense, from inside plugger to a rush tackle, but he needs to use his hands better when working against pass blockers. He can absolutely dominate the situation for clumps of snaps, but then get lost in the wash a bit. Like Keenan, Smith needs to stay healthy in 2025, so what goes on behind him in the depth chart will be huge. He’s more versatile than Keenan, so it wouldn’t surprise us to see him with the highest snap counts of any of the tackles provided there are no injuries.
Reserve tackles – Edric Hill, Jordan Renaud, Kelby Collins, Jeremiah Beaman, Isaia Faga, Steve Mboumoua, London Simmons
3. #11 Jordan Renaud (So., 6-4, 260)
Strengths: Ability to play either Bandit or DT, fast and athletic for an interior lineman, pursues well and exhibits sound tackling mechanics
Weaknesses: May not have the bulk to play inside consistently, needs to make a greater impact when pass rushing from an inside slot
Analysis: Renaud will likely wind up playing more inside the formation as he gets older, but for now he’s a classic tweener in this defense. Having said that, he is a supremely talented tweener who combines a defensive end’s quickness with the body to possibly play inside technique. Given that Alabama is a bit stacked at the Bandit spot, Renaud’s workload will go up substantially if he can show his value as a tackle, especially on passing downs. Alternately, if he can show the ability to play the run while lining up at tackle, it will allow the coaches to rotate him more often with Keenan and boost Keenan’s effectiveness at the same time.
4. #94 Edric Hill (So., 6-3, 282)
Strengths: Sound technique overall, Works hard and is coachable, can play either tackle slot and adjust to their specific roles
Weaknesses: Smaller size can get him overwhelmed when playing nose, doesn’t really have a singular skill at which he excels
Analysis: Whereas James Smith looks bigger than his listed size, Hill sometimes looks smaller – especially slimmer – than his counterparts. Hill was a red-chip recruit that many people thought would struggle to find playing time at Alabama, but he enters 2025 as likely the top overall pure tackle coming off the bench. From this point on in the tackle depth chart, we haven’t seen a lot of live-fire action from any of the competitors, but Hill has drawn consistent praise from the coaches since his arrival and he’s still here while several alleged “better” prospects have washed out.
5. #92 Jeremiah Beaman (RFr., 6-4, 312)
Strengths: Was dominant at times in the bowl game, prototypical DT size, aggressive almost to a fault at the point of attack
Weaknesses: Still learning the technique to play on this level, only bits and pieces of action so far against college OL
Analysis: When Alabama’s depth chart found itself stricken by postseason holdouts last year, Beaman stepped into a key role against Michigan and every time he was on the field, people noticed it for all the right reasons. Beaman has the best pure measurements of any tackle on the roster, and he treated the Michigan opportunity as an audition. If anything, he’ll need to learn to pace himself and dial back the aggressiveness unless his snap counts are managed. He’s another that plays with heavy hands and can create space for himself between him and the opposing offensive lineman. Of all the reserve tackle candidates, it’s Beaman who has the chance to gain the most with a strong early showing in 2025.
6. #17 Kelby Collins (Jr., 6-4, 285)
Strengths: Positional flexibility to play end or tackle, brings a tough-guy streak to the position, has experience coming in as a Florida transfer
Weaknesses: Regressed in Gainesville as a sophomore, on the smaller side for a 4-front tackle
Analysis: An Alabama native, Collins opened up his college career in Florida before transferring to Alabama this spring. If Alabama gets the 2023 version of Collins, there’s something to like: 23 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, a PBU and a forced fumble. In 2024, though, Collins logged only 6 tackles despite Florida not having tremendous depth in front of him. Collins was listed as an Edge on the Gator roster, but he will be at best a Bandit at Alabama and maybe even a tackle. He had a good spring and there’s some evidence that a change in scenery may ultimately benefit him.
7. #25 Steve Mboumoua (So., 6-4, 298)
Strengths: Still-growing body, solid year at the JUCO level in 2024, will be one of the team’s most athletic linemen
Weaknesses: Technique is still green, would do well to focus on one position despite his versatility
Analysis: When Bama first signed Mboumoua in the 2023-2024 recruiting cycle, there was a question whether he was a Jack linebacker in a 3-4 over/under or whether he might possibly grow into a defensive end at some point. A year later, there are still positional questions, but now it’s whether Mboumoua is going to wind up a pure tackle or whether he can still have some function as a Bandit end. In his lone year in JUCO, Mboumoua racked up 46 tackles, 4.5 sacks and recovered 3 fumbles. On a scale of potential, Mboumoua may have more than any other defensive lineman Alabama has. Whether he shows it in his first season at the FBS level, though, remains to be seen.
8. #88 Isaia Faga (RFr., 6-2, 290)
Strengths: Fireplug build with the quickness to frustrate centers, uses leverage well in his technique
Weaknesses: Appears smaller than what’s printed in the program, gets tied up by larger guards, didn’t challenge for playing time as a true freshman
Analysis: Faga’s size was always going to be what, if anything, held him back. Although listed at 6’2”, 290, he didn’t appear even that big as a freshman. Tim Keenan has been able to make it work at this height, though, and as long as people remember guys like Robert Stewart and Auburn’s DeMarco McNeil, there will always be a place in the SEC for shorter noseguards. Whether Faga can be effective in tandem with another tackle in Alabama’s 4-3 remains to be seen, and anyone outside the top six on the depth chart at the end of fall camp is going to have trouble logging snaps. The more likely outcome for Faga is a longer developmental timeline than that of some of his teammates.
9. ## London Simmons (Fr., 6-3, 310)
Strengths: Has the size on paper, solid senior season with some analysts projecting him above his red-chip status
Weaknesses: Wasn’t on campus for spring practice, wasn’t a top-tier recruit and will need to prove himself
Analysis: He’s virtually identical to Jeremiah Beaman in terms of size and body layout, but London Simmons hasn’t spent a day going against other college athletes just yet. The word from Tuscaloosa is that Simmons has the talent to play early, but the staff won’t be upset if he needs a bit of developmental time. Finding defensive tackles with the prototype height-weight combination who don’t find themselves highly rated by the recruiting services is a bit strange in and of itself. We don’t expect Simmons to be part of the rotation in 2025, but we’re definitely keeping an eye on him.
Bandit ends – Jah-Marien Latham, L.T. Overton, Keon Keeley, Fatutoa Henry
1. #22 L.T. Overton (Sr., 6-5, 280)
Strengths: Quickness allows him to play Bandit despite having tackle size, disruptive pass rusher who can get under tackles and attack the inside shoulder, a mismatch for tight ends in the running game
Weaknesses: Can get to the quarterback but needs to get better at finishing, sometimes takes bad angles if an offensive lineman has been effective against him
Analysis: Overton’s ability to play inside or out made him the ideal candidate for the primary Bandit spot after transferring from Texas A&M, which never seemed to be able to find a place for him. Alabama will use a lot of twin-Bandit looks to combat physical running teams – with Jah-Marien Latham as the second – and Overton is really too much for most tight ends to handle in such situations. We’d like to see him close the deal better once he’s in the backfield; Overton had several missed sacks last year when it seemed the quarterback was all but in his grasp. The ability to get back there in the first place, however, is something not all larger ends have, but Overton certainly does.
2. #20 Jah-Marien Latham (Sr., 6-3, 265)
Strengths: Learned tackle under the Saban staff before moving outside, very strong for his weight, disruptive inside moves against guards create pattern asymmetry in blocking schemes
Weaknesses: A bit too heavy in the past to attack QBs from the edge, needs a Plan B for when quick-footed tackles push him upfield
Analysis: Latham has played everything from outside linebacker to nosetackle in six years. Coming into 2025, he’s continued to trim down and is now listed at 265 pounds, which seems to portend a scenario where he spends more time on the outside of the formation rather than flexing down to tackle. Latham is a sure tackler and a solid effort/technique guy as well; the key for him in 2025 will be to find what he does best and concentrate himself into that role. His attack moves when working against inside linemen are among his best features, as he can disrupt an entire line scheme almost by himself, letting other players finish things off from behind him. Whether his newer, smaller size still allows for such remains to be seen. Look for a lot of Latham/Overton combo work this year, sometimes with Overton sliding inside to tackle.
3. #31 Keon Keeley (So., 6-5, 280)
Strengths: Top-end physical tools, good initial quickness as a pass rusher, hard worker who accepted to move to DL
Weaknesses: Still growing into the role, not yet an elite run-stopper
Analysis: Recruited as a Jack linebacker specifically, Keeley began outgrowing the position almost before reporting to Tuscaloosa. Last year, Keeley was perhaps atop the list of players that fans wanted regular reports about, given how he was expected to make a strong impression as an edge rusher from day one. That kind of impact never materialized for Keeley, but the move to Bandit end has seemed to suit him. After spending most of the first half of the year on the bench, Keeley was able to play enough to burn a redshirt and had some particularly eye-opening moments in the last quarter of the year. He’s already listed at an identical size to L.T. Overton, but Keeley looks longer and leaner to the naked eye. As what is technically a down lineman, he’ll need to focus on stopping the run just as much as he does getting after quarterbacks.
4. #14 Fatutoa Henry (Jr., 6-4, 248)
Strengths: Heavy hands and uses them well, diagnoses running plays and takes good pursuit angles, will engage with OL and wins his share
Weaknesses: Very good but not elite first step, in tweener territory for this specific defense, was injured in spring
Analysis: Henry was not able to participate in spring drills due to injury, so we weren’t able to see whether Alabama’s ultimate plans for him are as a Wolf linebacker or a Bandit end. Henry spent most of his time at the JUCO level playing with his hand down, and his willingness to mix it up with offensive linemen suggest a player more suited to the Bandit spot at UA. If that’s the case, he will need to add some weight fairly quickly. If his future is at Wolf, he’ll face a more crowded depth chart as he looks for playing time, and it’s hard to say which of the entrenched players he’d end up beating out. We have him here at Bandit mostly because it just feels like a better fit, but Henry playing Wolf wouldn’t be a surprise at all.