The 2025 Alabama Crimson Tide will feature one of the best defensive lines in all of college football. The Crimson Tide returns key players from last season and did a good job in recruiting to add depth. According to Pro Football Focus, the group is rated second in college football, only behind the Clemson Tigers. Defensive line coach Freddie Roach knows what it takes to be successful in Tuscaloosa. He played linebacker at Alabama from 2002 to 2005 and was named National Freshman of the Year.
Previewing the 2025 Alabama Defensive Line
Returning to the Defensive Line
Returning to the Alabama defensive front are talented players like LT Overton and Tim Keenan III. Both are players who could have been drafted but decided to return to Tuscaloosa. They both should be featured on many pre-season teams. Last season was Overton’s first season with Alabama after playing his first two with Texas A&M. In 2024, he had a total of 42 tackles along with three tackles for loss and two sacks. In two seasons as an Aggie, Overton only accumulated 48 tackles and one sack.
Keenan also lived in the backfield of opposing teams. Last season, he had 40 tackles but added eight tackles for loss. Alabama was not great at getting sacks last season, but Keenan was third on the team with two and a half sacks. Additionally, James Smith should be a key impact player for Alabama. He appeared in 13 games last season and had 20 tackles. While he only had one sack during the season, he did have a total of five quarterback hurries. He also had three and a half tackles for loss.
Defensive Line Edge Rushers
Alabama only totaled 25 sacks last season. It ranked 14th in the SEC and will need to improve in 2025. Qua Russaw and Jah-Marien Latham return to the defensive line looking to improve the Alabama pass rush. Russaw should be the leading candidate to start for Kane Wommack’s defense. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games and started in six of those. Russaw had 36 tackles and two and a half tackles for loss. He had just one sack last season, but he did intercept two passes. That lone sack occurred versus the Georgia Bulldogs, where he also had a forced fumble.
Latham played in all 13 games last season, starting in 11. He totaled 28 tackles in 2024 with two and a half tackles for loss plus one sack. His best performance of the season was against the South Carolina Gamecocks. In the 27-25 victory, Latham had seven tackles and one sack. He also had a forced fumble versus Georgia. The Alabama defensive line will need more games like that in 2025.
The New Guys
Alabama added more to the defensive line through recruiting than from the transfer portal. The lone portal addition was Kelby Collins from Florida. 247Sports rated Collins a four-star transfer prospect and the 24th-best defensive lineman. Last season for the Gators, Collins had six tackles in only six games. He is looking to bounce back to his form from 2023, when he had 23 tackles and one and a half sacks.
Alabama signed four defensive linemen in its 2025 recruiting class. One of the best signings is four-star edge rusher Justin Hill. He is a player who showed great improvement from his sophomore year to his junior season in high school. As a sophomore in Cincinnati, Ohio, he had just five and a half sacks. During his junior season, he picked up 13 sacks. Alabama also signed three-star prospects London Simmons, Steve Bolo Mboumoua, and Fatutoa Henry.
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