Lathan is the leading tackler for the Mountaineers, and he’s been a player I’ve liked for a long time. Lathan shows advanced speed and athleticism for his position, gets to the football well, and can play in both run and pass situations. College coaches have asked me about him several times at CFI Carolinas Showcases, and I think any college football program will be better with Lathan on their team once he graduates.

I personally heard college coaches impressed with Lathan’s performance in this showcase. It still surprises me why Lathan doesn’t have more recruiting attention, but his time will come sooner than later as long as he keeps putting up strong showcase performances such as this one. Lathan’s lateral movement is impressive and he showed a little bit of pass rushing promise to go along with his off-ball film that has looked good overall. Over 100 tackles last season with a good ability to play the run, Lathan also showed some coverage skills during the 1 on 1 period versus running backs.

Lathan has some excellent size for the linebacker position and has done well in previous offseason camps and showcases. Showing excellent speed and athleticism, I also saw Lathan in a playoff game last season and I liked how he came up and supported in the running game – something that he saw a good bit of in his area of the state he played in. I think that as long as Lathan continues to improve his instincts and trust his eyes consistently, he can develop into a player that colleges will be interested in.

With over 100 tackles this past season and an offer from Fayetteville State in hand, I think Lathan is just starting to realize his large potential as a linebacker. I saw him up close at a recent showcase and his athletic ability is off the charts. Lathan shows excellent speed and agility in the open field, and on his highlight film he explodes into ball carriers and flies to the football on a consistent basis. He is a strong selection for this Junior Bowl team.