2026 Alabama Fall Football Preview: The Defensive Line got a LOT bigger

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A week ago, we heard from defensive coordinator Kane Wommack that one of the biggest points of emphasis from the offseason was to get the defensive line bigger to hold up better, particularly in the run game.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama coaching staff ran the numbers over the last two seasons and they weren’t good. Comparing the “frames” of other SEC defensive lines, coordinator Kane Wommack said they found that theirs ranked 14th in height and 15th in weight.

In a league that prides itself on physicality, that had a negative impact.

“Mass kicks ass,” Wommack explained. “And so when you have big frames that have length and being able to strike people, but also when they’re getting a double team, right, just sheer mass matters. 

“And, you know, the truth is we we got moved around some for the last two years here.”

So the coaching staff, in conjunction with general manager Courtney Morgan, got to work in the transfer portal. It added Devan Thompkins, Terrance Green and Kedrick Bingley-Jones, who all had Power 4 experience and all checked in at 300-plus pounds.

Throw in 301-pound Jeremiah Beaman, who is back after missing all of last season with a knee injury, and Wommack has seen the numbers improve. 

He said they’re now fourth or fifth in the SEC the average defensive line frame — “a much better place now.”

“At times I think we’ve been really good, but to be a dominant defense, you have to have guys up front that that can that can make a difference,” he explained. “And I think we’re moving in the right direction here.”

Alabama’s defense was one of the best in the country last year, only giving up 19.2 points per game and generally performing better than any Alabama post-2017. Still, that was largely buoyed by exceptional pass defense, as the Tide’s run defense had plenty of issues. So, there was some pretty significant turnover along the defensive line, and by whatever metric Wommack is using, they got a whole lot bigger. Hopefully, that translates to better.

Departures

James Smith was a former 5 star recruit who mostly started at defensive tackle for the Tide the last two years but never really broke out. He flashed his disruptiveness here and there, but he also seemed to be the most common culprit when lines were left wide open up the middle. He jumped ship to Ohio State, and, if we’re being totally honest, I don’t think he’ll be all that missed.

Tim Keenan III, on the other hand, was a multi-year starter at nose tackle for Alabama, and was perennially underrated. The senior is now off the NFL and will be missed, however, he also missed some chunks of last season with injury.

LT Overton is also off to the NFL as a former top-10 recruit who had a solid 4-year career as a functional SEC starter, but never really lived up to the hype. Overton played the Bandit role for Alabama the last two seasons.

Jordan Renaud was a reserve Bandit who saw his role increase near the end of last season, but didn’t get on the field as much as many expected before the 2025 season. He is now at Ole Miss

Keon Keeley Another top 10 recruit as an edge rusher that never figured out if he was an edge rusher or a defensive linemen. It took him 3 years to find the field where he got some rotational snaps last season. He did get a few sacks, but most were clean-up or hustle sacks, and not really ones where he created the pressure himself. He’s transferred to Notre Dame.

Kelby Collins transferred in from Florida last year and was expected to be a solid part of the rotation. He actually did play a lot of snaps, but barely made any impact and has now transferred to South Carolina.

Returning starters (ish)

In all reality, Alabama does not return any of the true starters from last year’s team. However, there are some guys who did get some starts or played significant roles last season rotating in for Keenan, Smith, and Overton.

#90 – London Simmons (So) 6’3” 300

The 3-star freshman a year ago was one of the biggest surprises as he was a summer enrollee that was suddenly a fall camp star and turned it into an immediate role in the season opener with Keenan hurt. Simmons logged 13 tackles and two sacks as a rotational nose tackle. He was solid enough to earn the coaches’ trust as a true freshman. Year 2 will need for him to prove he can make impact plays.

#94 – Edric Hill (RJr) 6’3” 292

Hill was on the field for 347 snaps and a couple of starts for Alabama last year, and was generally used more as a passing downs interior rusher, logging 18 hurries on 193 pass rush snaps. He’s a bit on the smaller side and was sometimes on the wrong end of getting washed out up the middle on interior rush plays, but he was also a constant presence as a pass rusher and could get into the backfield with his quickness.

#20 – Jah-Marien Latham (Grad Sr.) 6’3” 273

Fun fact, Latham was in the same recruiting class as Will Anderson Jr, who now has his 2nd contract in the NFL. A combination of medical and Covid redshirts now has Latham entering his 7th(!) year of college football. Latham played as a rotational player in 2023 and 2024 for Alabama, and then going into 2025 had swapped positions to play Wolf linebacker and was expected to be a major piece for the defense, but an injury in the season opener saw him miss the rest of the season. At this point, I don’t know what position Latham will play or where he fits on this team.

Returning Reserves

#88 – Isaia Faga (RSo) 6’2” 291

Like Simmons, Faga was something of a surprise when he was suddenly getting meaningful playing time at the start of last season with Keenan and Latham both missing time. Despite his smaller size, Faga mostly played nose tackle, and, in my opinion, often impressed with his strength. I even considered him one of the few bright spots of the Florida State game. Still, Faga’s playing time dropped off significantly once Keenan returned after the first three weeks of last year.

#92 – Jeremiah Beaman (RSo) 6’4” 301

Beaman is a player I don’t know what to think about. We’ve barely seen him, but he did get a role at the end of the 2024 season, and then was talked about leading up to 2025 like he was planned to be a starter and a major piece of the 2025 defense. But a pre-season injury shelved him for the whole season. Now that he’s recovered, is he back in the driver’s seat to be a starter? Or has he been buried? Who knows.

#14 – Fatutoa (Kevonte) Henry (RSr) 6’4” 272

It’s now or never for the JUCO transfer. Henry was originally more of an edge rusher when he first played for Oklahoma, but after some time in JUCO and a season at Alabama, he’s bulked up to more of a Bandit end. Henry was an impact pass rusher at the JUCO level, but didn’t really scratch the field for Bama last year.

#25 – SteveMBoumoua (RSo) 6’4” 303

The Canadian just might be the most pure athletic specimen with the highest upside on the whole roster. He’s a monster of a player who just looks different on the field, and he’s shown plenty of flashes at the last two A-Day games. He had only just started playing football when he was getting recruited out of high school, and really was more of a 250-lb linebacker before bulking up to play defensive tackle. Will he be an impact player this year? Probably not, but if things ever click for him, it’ll be nothing but good things for the Tide.

Incoming Transfers

Buckle up, because this is where Alabama really overhauled things from the 2025 team.

#1- Devan Thompkins (RSr) 6’5” 300

The USC veteran has done double duty as both a defensive tackle and a defensive end, racking up 6 sacks for the Trojans last year, and by all accounts has been often brought up as the most impactful incoming player on this team. It seems that he’s being viewed as a big Bandit end who can move inside on pass rush downs. Thompkins should be viewed as the leader in the clubhouse for this entire position group.

#99 – Terrance Green (RJr) 6’5” 313

Green is a high upside player from Oregon that was one of the more highly rated portal players in this last cycle, and reportedly had his fair share of big money offers, including from the Ducks trying to get him to stay. He’s one of those massive nose tackles with surprising burst and pass rush skills that flashed in a rotational role for the Ducks last year. Alabama is banking on him putting things together to be more than just a rotational guy, though.

#22 – Kedrick Bingley-Jones (Grad Sr) 6’4” 302

Bingley-Jones is a 7th year veteran from the same class as Jah-Marien Latham who played his first four years at North Carolina, then spent the last two years as a starter and a major part the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ defensive line rotation. While he hasn’t had the most illustrious career, he brings plenty of SEC starting experience to the table.

#91 – Caleb Smith (RFr) 6’5” 280

Smith is an Alabama native that went to Washington for his freshman year, but apparently decided to go back home. He doesn’t have any real college tape yet, so he’s a “remains to be seen” kind of player, but 6’5” 280 is an awesome frame to start with.

Incoming Freshmen

#93 – Malique Franklin (Fr) 6’5” 275

Franklin has some pretty crazy stats down in Daphne last year. He was mostly an edge rusher, but has already bulked up to be more of a true defensive end/Bandit type.

#44 – Nolan Wilson (Fr) 6’5” 285

Wilson was one of the more highly rated and most highly contested recruits of Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class. While he played both edge and inside, it seems he’s working to get up to the size to be a true defensive tackle.

#26 – Mhari Johnson (Fr) 6’3” 290

Johnson was an edge player in high school that typically won with power and leverage, and he’s now already gained 40 pounds since high school, so he seems to be all in for moving to defensive tackle.

#32 – Corey Howard (Fr) 6’6” 288

Howard was a three star prospect, but both Alabama and Georgia jumped on him as someone who was playing edge rusher, but could develop into an impact interior player. He hasn’t been talked about much, either in his recruitment or in the preseason, but I think he has a really high upside.

Depth Chart Prediction

This is a tough group to project. On top of all of the turnover, there’s two guys who were set to be starters in 2025 that never got to because of injury, and on top of that, Wommack rotates his defensive line like crazy. For now, here’s my best guess:

Bandit: Devan Thompkins, Fatutoa Henry/Jah-Marien Latham

Defensive Tackle: London Simmons/Kedrick Bingley-Jones, Edric Hill

Nose Tackle: Terrance Green, Jeremiah Beaman, Isaia Faga

That said, I do think that situational packages and even a team-by-team matchups will play a part in who starts in any given game. I think we’ll pretty commonly see Devan Thompkins slide inside to defensive tackle on 3rd downs, with one of the Wolf linebackers (Dez Umeozulu or Yhonzae Pierre) moving to Bandit. And Edric Hill will get more snaps than a true “3rd team” defensive tackle as he’ll often move up for passing downs as well. I also wouldn’t be surprised if MBoumoua finds his way on the field a little this year, even if I don’t have him in the top nine here.

There’s a lot to be excited about with this group and the Tide getting much bigger while bringing in some veteran talent. Here’s to hoping it translates into results.

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