Alabama football ‘optimistic’ about linebacker returning to Tide next season

Alabama football looks to be trending towards possibly having Justin Jefferson back in Tuscaloosa next season. 

Jefferson is a senior, who played two years in junior college at Pearl River Community College. He has spent the last two seasons with the Crimson Tide. 

The NCAA recently granted a waiver to allow college athletes, who played previously at JUCO programs an opportunity to have another year of eligibility. Alabama’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack addressed the possibility of Jefferson paying for Alabama next season on Friday.

“We’re looking into those things right now,” said Wommack. “We’re really optimistic about JJ coming back for next season. It’s something he wants to do. Hopefully, we’ll have some confirmation on that here sooner than later. It’s all looking like it’s in the right direction right now. I think it goes without saying how special that would be for our defense when you have Jihaad Campbell, Deontae Lawson and Justin Jefferson potentially all walking out the door, and now you’ve got a chance to potentially recoup at least one of those players.”

Jefferson has 52 total tackles and two sacks so far this season. 

The waiver comes after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued the NCAA. 

“The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26 if those student-athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility),” the statement said. 

GET THE BEST ALABAMA FOOTBALL INSIDER INFORMATION, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, AND RECRUITING COVERAGE TODAY! SIGN UP HERE TO UNLOCK OUR SUBSCRIBER ONLY CONTENT!*