JC Latham Talks Weight Gain, Teaching Young Players on Offensive Line

Latham was listed as 335 pounds on last year's roster — he's now up to nearly 361 pounds.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Everyone knows about Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham's size.

It's no secret — at 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds, Latham is a dominant force on the Crimson Tide's offensive front.

And now he's even bigger.

On Friday, Latham tweeted out that he was up to 360.8 pounds — a near 26-pound weight gain over the offseason.

"I feel great, honestly," Latham said. "We have a great strength and conditioning group down there, so I put on some muscle. I feel great."

He said that it was a personal decision for him and his future in the NFL.

"Definitely just me personally," Latham said. "Obviously I'm a team-oriented player. I want the team to succeed in all aspects. But I understand that my career won't end at Alabama, and it will continue down the line, once I leave here, that I want to be able to add in addition to. Guys like Will Anderson that I'll see again. So I definitely want to come with something else to my game — whether it's getting bigger or stronger or faster, whatever that might be."

Latham, now a junior, is a veteran in the group. Being a leader isn't a challenge to him.

"It’s not really a challenge. It’s more of an expectation," Latham said. "The older guys left, obviously, so the younger guys have to step into that role. I was one of those younger guys. There are going to be guys who come in as a freshman and looking for somebody to guide them to what they’re supposed to do, because nobody really knows the answers to the test. Being that guy to help them out, and getting them to understand that this is what you’re supposed to do — if you want to play and be great, this is the blueprint — and showing them the ways and different outlets they can do it."

Latham knows the importance of having depth on the offensive line — and he believes this team has it.

"Just talking to the younger guys, and whoever else is out there, just understanding that guys can go down quickly," Latham said. "I know their situations. To where I use Dallas Turner as an example. Guys in front of him, even though Dallas is an amazing player today, before — his freshman year — guys in front of him went down, and he had to step up. He did a great job at that, because he was prepared. So just letting younger guys know that, like, just because you might not be where you are, or where you want to be in that moment, you never know what can happen. Guys might not be performing in front of you, or they might just be hurt. However it might go. Just always stay prepared, always stay ready to go."

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