Former five-star recruit LT Overton finds better fit at Alabama than Texas A&M
LT Overton spent two seasons at Texas A&M but transferred in December to Alabama.
Defensive end LT Overton was one of eight prospects rated with five stars in Texas A&M’s historic, No. 1-ranked 2022 high school recruiting class. But two seasons in College Station yielded only four starts and one sack, the result of what Overton considers a not-so-perfect fit in the Aggies’ defensive scheme.
“I feel like I wasn’t being used to my best abilities back then, when it came to dropping [into coverage] most plays,” Overton said Tuesday in his first interview with reporters since transferring to Alabama last winter.
247 Sports national scouting analyst Gabe Brooks projected Overton out of high school as a “potential impact player at the upper-tier P5 level with long-term high-round NFL Draft potential,” and, “one of the nation’s best defensive line prospects across multiple classes.” Overton said Tuesday he arrived at Texas A&M weighing about 280 pounds but needed to shed weight to fill the role Aggies coaches wanted him to play. That meant losing more than 30 pounds to the 245-50 range — despite being listed on Texas A&M’s roster at 265.
The lighter, leaner Overton didn’t work. He entered the NCAA transfer portal December 5, not long after Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher. Two weeks later, Overton officially committed to play for Alabama and joined the team for Rose Bowl practices in Los Angeles.
He’s gained back all that weight, the scale read 284 pounds when Overton stepped on it Tuesday morning. That’s roughly the prototypical weight for the “Bandit” defensive end position in Kane Wommack’s defense, which is a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end that can shift inside or outside while playing both the run and rushing the passer.
“Now that I’m now mostly a hand-down, man-down person, I feel like I can use my abilities to the best,” Overton said. “I feel like it gives me more of an opportunity to free rush, play my type of game that I would like to play in, and really just be explosive on the ball.”
Overton spent the spring and the first few weeks of fall camp as the second-team Bandit behind fifth-year senior Jah-Marien Latham, who is listed at 278 pounds. But both Latham and Overton earned mentions from coach Kalen DeBoer on Tuesday’s GoJo and Golic show when discussing the pass rush, and Overton has shown up on the practice field this August, too, after a few missed practices because of illness.
The lighter, leaner Overton didn’t work. He entered the NCAA transfer portal December 5, not long after Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher. Two weeks later, Overton officially committed to play for Alabama and joined the team for Rose Bowl practices in Los Angeles.
He’s gained back all that weight, the scale read 284 pounds when Overton stepped on it Tuesday morning. That’s roughly the prototypical weight for the “Bandit” defensive end position in Kane Wommack’s defense, which is a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end that can shift inside or outside while playing both the run and rushing the passer.
“Now that I’m now mostly a hand-down, man-down person, I feel like I can use my abilities to the best,” Overton said. “I feel like it gives me more of an opportunity to free rush, play my type of game that I would like to play in, and really just be explosive on the ball.”
Overton spent the spring and the first few weeks of fall camp as the second-team Bandit behind fifth-year senior Jah-Marien Latham, who is listed at 278 pounds. But both Latham and Overton earned mentions from coach Kalen DeBoer on Tuesday’s GoJo and Golic show when discussing the pass rush, and Overton has shown up on the practice field this August, too, after a few missed practices because of illness.
“I felt the biggest connection with him,” Overton said of Roach. “We knew they were going to bring a [new head coach] in that was going to be able to hold down what Saban had left in the past. As long as I they kept Roach, I knew I was going to be fine.”
Now settled into Wommack’s defense after the coaching change, Overton flashed his potential in last Saturday’s scrimmage.
“LT was making plays,” linebacker Deontae Lawson said Tuesday. “He was rushing the quarterback like no other. We need that, and we’re happy to have that, and we’re excited for his future.”
And it’s not just rushing quarterbacks, either. As a Bandit, he’ll need to use his bulk, too.
“It makes things really challenging to establish runs when you have a 280-pound ass-kicker over there,” said Wommack.
