Kane Wommack has a utility knife in Alabama football sixth-year defender Jah-Marien Latham .
A former defensive end, Latham moved to the Crimson Tide's wolf outside linebacker spot for the final three games of the 2024 season, "just the opposite of what I used to do," Latham said. He has added responsibility as a "stack backer," while also returning, at times, to his old haunts at bandit defensive end.
"Z-Bo can do a lot of things for us," Wommack said. "He can play multiple positions for us. In fact, we've got him playing, gosh, I mean, three, four positions on the defense, which is really impressive."
The fourth? Nose tackle in what Latham calls the "cheetah" package for Alabama 's defense.
The goal of said package? It's simple.
"Just to get pressure on the quarterback," Latham said. "Get sacks, you know what I'm saying? We just got a lot of fast skill guys out there that we think can get to the quarterback. We got a lot of guys in the backfield we know who can cover. It's just a way to get off the field on third down."
Latham declined to share which members of the defense would join him up front on those package plays, but said that the wolf outside linebackers and bandit defensive ends would rotate depending on who the coaching staff wanted on the field in those situations.
Latham had 29 tackles and three tackles-for-loss in 2024, more than his first four seasons with the program combined. And no matter the position, Latham is ready to show what he can be for Alabama 's defense in 2025.
"Now it's just putting all those things together so that I can be more versatile on the field."
Alabama football opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 at Florida State.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Jah-Marien Latham shares added wrinkle to Alabama football defense
