Fueled by a no-excuses mentality, the motivated tackle is confronting teammates and demanding nastiness to transform Tennessee’s front into an elite unit dedicated to protecting Cam Ward.
The Tennessee Titans have seen a different version of J.C. Latham this offseason compared to the years before.
He looks extra motivated and is taking his no-excuses mentality into the 2026 season. Latham knows that he has to produce this year after dealing with hip injuries last season.
We've seen him stand up for his guys, even getting in the face of defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
The Titans' offensive line has needed someone like this to be the tone setter after allowing top-10 sacks over the last few years.
Latham spoke to the media about this team's mindset and what caused the flip among many of the players. One mantra that has been with him this offseason is that culture is what you stand for and what you allow.
The Titans can't afford to be a pushover this year and need to do a better job of protecting Cam Ward.
"I know for a fact that when things aren't going good, there's a phrase that I learned this offseason, that culture is what you stand for and what you allow. You know, one of the things that I've thought about a lot, obviously, is a play like that, but also a play that stood out to me last year in training camp. You know, me and Jeff were going at it. I told him, 'Don't touch Cam.' Jeff, the next play, Cam must've scrambled all the way to the left side of the field. We're on the right hash. He scrambled all the way to the left side of the field. Cam threw the ball, Jeff gave him a little nudge, looking like, 'I touched Cam. I touched Cam.' When I'm looking at it like, 'You're on the other side of the ******* field.' I don't mean to slur, but I think about that a lot, how culture is what you stand for and what you allow. This offseason, I mean, we all kinda had a moment of self-reflecting. Like, we wanna be the offensive line we know we can be. You know, we can't be no pushovers. We can't be nobody's *****, to be completely honest.
The Titans need this philosophy, especially with all the changes on the offensive line this year. Latham, Peter Skoronski and Dan Moore Jr. are back, but there are two new starters.
Austin Schlottmann is replacing Lloyd Cushenberry at center, and Fernando Carmona is starting at right guard in place of Kevin Zeitler, both of whom are no longer on the team.
It's clear that the Titans aren't messing around when it comes to protecting the quarterback. Hopefully, this is the kind of thing that will spread throughout the team.
