Ranking the Contenders: JC Latham
Rivals100 prospect JC Latham has an official top 10 but, as is the case with most lists of that sort, not every program that made the cut has a legitimate chance. Below, Rivals.com takes a look at the three programs that are realistically in the running and ranks them by their chances to land the elite tackle’s National Letter of Intent.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
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1. OHIO STATE
Ohio State seems to be way out in front here. Latham has already been on campus and plans to take an official visit in June, should the coronavirus pandemic allow it. Latham, who plays high school football at a boarding school in Florida despite being from Wisconsin, has long expressed an interest in returning to the Midwest for college. That combined with the bond he’s formed with Ryan Day’s staff makes the Buckeyes look like the eventual winners of this sweepstakes.
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2. LSU
LSU is chasing Ohio State. And while there seems to be a significant gap between the two programs, an eventual official visit to Baton Rouge could change things. Obviously LSU’s on-field momentum is appealing, but convincing Latham to stay in the South rather than return to the Midwest for college will be tricky.
3. ALABAMA
The darkhorse in all this, Alabama offered Latham roughly a year ago and has made some headway since doing so. The Tide remain a long shot, but they can use the success of fellow IMG Academy product Evan Neal to show Latham what’s possible in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban has an uphill fight on his hands, sure, but don’t count him out completely.