Alabama Offensive Tackle JC Latham is expected to be a first-round pick in this week's NFL draft. He grew up in Oak Creek and for his first two years of high school, played at Catholic Memorial.
"He said, 'What's the closest defensive position to the quarterback?' I said, 'Nose tackle, that's the position,'" Jerome Latham, JC's father, recounts. "And the first game? The center only snapped the ball cleanly three times. The rest of them were fumbled snaps. All because JC put the center into the quarterback's lap. And then the league changed the rule the following week."
"It feels like it's been not as long as what it really has been. Like, I feel like I can remember those days as if it were yesterday," says JC's brother, Langston Latham.
"I realized he was super athletic in his fourth-grade season," Jerome Latham remembers. "The biggest thing? He wanted to earn his way. You know, he didn't want to be given anything."
"I can remember when we were playing for Coach Young on Friday nights and afterwards going to Buffalo Wild Wings and just trying to see how many wings we could eat," Langston Latham recalls.
Latham then played at IMG Academy in Florida, which prepared him for Alabama.
"Coach Saban, like you said," Jerome Latham points at his shirt. "Legends are made there. You know, he was a legend. Again, he reminded me of Coach Young. A no-nonsense guy. I'm not going to give you anything. You gotta earn it."
Elite athletes certainly run in the family.
"Kevon Looney, you know, first cousin," Jerome Latham mentions. "Took the boys to go see him. His final game at Hamilton High School. Nick Young. Another first cousin."
But now it's JC's turn. Jerome, wife Kate, and brother Langston will all be in Detroit to hear JC's name called.
"I'll probably break down," Jerome Latham admits. "I'm keeping it in. But you know, it's joy. It's like, you did it."
"To see how far he's come? That's just telling me like, no matter what? The work is gonna pay off in the end," Langston Latham reflects. "I know he struggled, there's a lot of struggles. There's a lot of hard times in these. There's a lot of losses, way more losses than wins. But at the end? You won. You did what you said you were gonna to do."
If you believe the draft rumors, JC Latham could go 10th to 20th overall. But he should be a guaranteed first-round pick.
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