Alabama bullish LB Justin Jefferson returns for fifth year

TAMPA, Fla. – The NCAA’s decision to appeal Diego Pavia A court ruling has cleared the way for hundreds of former junior college players to see their careers extended an extra year.

Including one from Alabama.

On Monday, the NCAA Division I board granted “a waiver to allow 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 spent their last competitive season in the 2024-25 academic year,” according to Yahoo! Sport.

The decision affects the Alabama linebacker Justin Jeffersona senior for the Crimson Tide who started his college career at Pearl River Community College before transferring to Alabama in 2023. Jefferson has spent the last two seasons in Tuscaloosa, playing in 11 of the Tide’s games so far and making two starts on the inside. linebacker heading into the ReliaQuest Bowl.

On Friday, Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack Alabama said it is looking into it.

“I think we’re really optimistic about JJ coming back for next season,” Wommack said. “It’s something he wants to do. Hopefully we’ll get confirmation on that sooner rather than later, but it all seems to be going in the right direction right now.”

Jefferson opened the 2024 campaign as Alabama’s No. 3 off-ball linebacker behind Deontae Lawson and Jihad 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 communications.

Jefferson went through Alabama’s Senior Day ceremony thinking this would be his final season as a college football player, but the NCAA’s ruling opened the door for one more year. He has Pavia, the Vanderbilt quarterback, to thank when Pavia sued the NCAA to have his JUCO season not count. He obtained an injunction that extended his eligibility.

It sounds like Alabama is hoping for the same for Jefferson, which would be great news. The Tide will likely lose Campbell to the NFL draft, and Lawson has yet to announce his plans for the 2025 season. Alabama signed the Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green and three prep linebackers for the upcoming year, but Jefferson’s experience would be a welcome return.

“I think it goes without saying how special it would be for our defense when you have Jihaad Campbell, Deontae Lawson and Justin Jefferson potentially all walking out the door,” Wommack said, “and now you have a chance to to earn at least one of those players.”

Not a member, Alabama fans? Sign up for BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting, and join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the world on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!