The Trench King held court inside a corner room in downtown Detroit’s sprawling One Campus Martius complex. Clad in a sparkling black suit and tight Tennesse Titans cap, JC Latham sat down as the latest member of the NFL draft class of 2024.

He had watched Deion Sanders become Primetime and he wanted a nickname of his own, Latham explained in his post-draft news conference. The offensive and defensive lines are referred to as the “trench” where the game is won; after making his name as a prospect on both sides of that battle, Latham deemed himself ruler of the line of scrimmage. He showed it at IMG (Fla.) Academy, then at Tuscaloosa, then proved it to new Titans head coach Brian Callahan and second-year general manager Ron Carthon.

Speaking to Nashville media, Carthon made it clear Latham will flip to left tackle. Latham will work with longtime position coach Bill Callahan, Brian’s father, who’s spent 22 years teaching NFL offensive linemen and was last with the Cleveland Browns. Draft pundits heaped praise on the pairing, imagining how the Callahan’s can shape Latham’s frame and potential.

The last time Latham played left tackle was at IMG when he played alongside Tyler Booker. The two developed a bond — much like Latham did with UA’s last first-round tackle selected Evan Neal, another IMG alum — and it carried over to Alabama. As Latham did a year ago, Booker enters his junior year as a potential top prospect. Latham offered some guidance to the new alpha in the Tide’s position group.

“That’s my guy, T-Book. I definitely tell him to enjoy the process. I didn’t plan on losing to Michigan so I understood there was a chance I could lose and that would be it and you just looked back and be like, damn, not long ago you was a freshman in a dorm struggling with the Fourth Quarter Program and now you’re considered a top 10 pick going into the NFL. Time really does fly.

“I tell him to enjoy the process but also at the same time don’t try to rush it. I think he’s doing a great job at that. Some guys are, ‘Man, I don’t care next season. I’m just looking for the NFL.’ He’s doing a great job in not only putting the team first, guys getting accolades as well, but he’s also understanding I’m gonna take it step by step and piece by piece.”

Across the street, on the set of ESPN’s CollegeGameDay, Saban analyzed all first-round picks, including his former players. He called Latham one of the most “powerful” and best leaders he’s had in the trenches at UA.

It’s a mindset Latham learned from his father, Jerome Latham, and was reinforced at a powerhouse high school in Wisconsin, then in Florida with George Hegamin, a Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys and current staffer at Colorado, and eventually with Nick Saban.

“The impact that Saban had on me, he developed me and everybody else on and off the field. … If you want to be a leader, you have to hold people accountable. If you want to be liked, sell ice cream. Those are things I took from him,” Latham said.

Jerome believed their structure could help Latham blossom into a first-round pick. He became one on Thursday night.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].