Alabama LB Justin Jefferson will return for fifth season in 2025
Linebacker Justin Jefferson will return to Alabama for a fifth season in 2025.
Jefferson went through Alabama’s Senior Day ceremony believing this would be his last season as a college football player, but the NCAA’s ruling opened the door for one more year. He has Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to thank, as Pavia sued the NCAA that his season at JUCO should not count. He was granted an injunction that extended his eligibility.
“Thank you God for allowing me to play this game I love,” Jefferson said in a statement on social media. “Thank you to my family, friends and teammates for always supporting me along this football journey. Thank you to Coach Saban for taking a chance on me, and thank you to Coach DeBoer for helping me grow this season.
“I would also like to thank the people who fought to help junior college student-athletes earn an extra year of eligibility. Without this legislation, I would not be able to continue playing the game I love at the University I love. Alabama is a special place to me, and I cannot wait to return for the 2025 season.”
Jefferson, a senior for the Crimson Tide, started his college career at Pearl River Community College before transferring to Alabama in 2023. Jefferson has spent the last two seasons in Tuscaloosa, and he played in 12 of the Crimson Tide’s games this fall and made three starts.
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Jefferson opened the 2024 campaign as Alabama’s No. 3 off-ball linebacker behind Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell but played plenty of first-team snaps. When Lawson went down with a season-ending knee injury, Jefferson stepped into the starting lineup and filled his void as the defense’s signal-caller, wearing the green-dot helmet for communication.
While Campbell has declared for the NFL draft, Jefferson will be back for one more year.
“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,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said in Tampa, “And now, you have a chance to recoup at least one of those players.”
Jefferson is the latest defensive player to announce he will return for Alabama’s 2025 season, along with two Tide starting defensive linemen, LT Overton and Tim Keenan.
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