What is Alabama football getting in 2026 DE Jamarion Matthews? 'He's going to make a lot of plays'

What is Alabama football getting in 2026 DE Jamarion Matthews? ‘He’s going to make a lot of plays’

Posted by author February 25, 2025 Football

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What does Jamarion Matthews do well? To Sparkman High School defensive coordinator Dylan Livingston, it is incredibly simple.

“Getting to the quarterback and sacking him,” Livingston said.

But that’s not the whole story for Matthews, the 2026 defensive end who is the newest addition to Alabama football’s 2026 recruiting class along with Gadsden four-star cornerback Zyan Gibson and Atlanta three-star guard Chris Booker.

It was that first move off the line, that twitch that left Huntsville-area offensive tackles aghast. It was Matthews’ speed, his quickness, his explosiveness as a 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end.

“Jamarion’s got speed,” Livingston said. “He runs like 4.8 40. I mean, that’s moving for a defensive end. A lot of times, he can get off the line before that offensive tackle has a chance to get on him.”

And Matthews has the numbers to prove it.

In his sophomore and junior seasons, Matthews combined for 118 tackles, 48 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks, averaging at least one sack and multiple tackles-for-loss per game for Sparkman, per MaxPreps.

“If you wasn’t going to double-team him,” you weren’t going to block him, Sparkman football coach Ronnie Watson said.

Matthews came into Sparkman “blessed with size,” Livingston said. But as his career progressed, the defensive end became more and more dominant.

“You could really see him just starting to take the game over,” Livingston said. “The game kind of started slowing down for him as far as being able to see what’s going on, what kind of block he’s trying to get. It just allowed him to kind of start taking games over.”

With those stats playing Alabama 7A high school football, Matthews had an extensive offer list, securing the attention of programs such as Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Auburn and Florida. According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Matthews is the No. 199 player and the 17th-ranked edge nationally.

Matthews reported an Alabama offer Oct. 26 in the middle of a junior season in which he had 57 tackles, 29 tackles-for-loss and 17 sacks.

Mathews attended Alabama’s junior day weekend, which Watson called a turning point for the 2026 defensive end, saying the Crimson Tide left “a big impression.”

“He was sold,” Watson said.

“I think what he loved most about Alabama was (that) it’s Alabama,” Livingston said. “That’s the standard of college football. So when you get an opportunity to play at Alabama, that means something, right?”

Huntsville-area offensive tackles won’t have to worry about Matthews as a senior. The 2026 defensive end announced a day before his Crimson Tide commitment he would transfer to Gainesville High School northeast of Atlanta. It was a decision Watson said he couldn’t fault Matthews for making, for “trying to do things that (are) better for his family.”

“I’ll be his biggest cheerleader,” Watson said. “I’ll be his biggest supporter because, at the end of the day, these guys are teenagers that need just that.”

That support will continue when Matthews joins the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa as a Bandit or an outside linebacker, one that can use that same first move that left offensive tackles looking for answers.

“He’s going to make a lot of plays,” Watson said.

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.