How Alabama’s LT Overton is championing youth development through sports and community service

Ever since he arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2023, Alabama football’s LT Overton has been a difference maker on the football field and in the community.

The platform of a former five-star high school recruit that’s currently a starting defensive lineman at Alabama is substantial, but from the jump, Overton has made it a priority to use his platform to benefit the community and underprivileged youth.

“I know what my plan is, and that’s to help give back to communities I know I can reach out to and help out, not just the older generation but also the younger generation,” Overton said to media on Aug. 2. “Community service is something that I just started out with, really getting the base of everything, understanding other people’s perspective on how my life is different from theirs and how I could help apply that.”

Off the field, Overton has made frequent visits to the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Center to mentor at-risk children, appeared at local schools to speak with students about the importance of academics, volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club and the Two Roads Autism Center and donated some of his hair to Locks of Love prior to fall camp.

But Overton has also found ways to serve and prioritize youth development through another passion of his: sports. 

While growing up in Tuscaloosa, Overton was a regular participant in the annual Turkey Bowl game between Verner Elementary and Rock Quarry Elementary. This game raises money for each elementary school’s P.E. program so kids can have top-notch equipment.

This past year, Overton was able to give back to Verner Elementary and pour into the kids by sponsoring their jerseys for the 2024 Turkey Bowl. He attended the game with his brother, Micaiah, who also participated in the Turkey Bowl as a kid before growing up and playing college football at Liberty, Texas A&M and Arkansas State.

“You got people coming back like LT and Micaiah,” David Judson Cameron, the physical education teacher at Verner Elementary, said. “It’s good to have them. Makes my heart feel good.”

Overton’s impact has spanned across multiple communities in different states. Currently, Overton is sponsoring a student at Milton High School in Georgia, his alma mater, and he is providing equipment funds for multiple sports. 

“Honestly, everybody grows up different, and the amount of love and support you put in that person really makes a difference in their life,” Overton said. “Knowing those guys that have to come in and don’t have much, don’t really have any family support or anything, I just want to be able to be that little extra help.”

This summer, Overton ran his first youth football camp at Milton High School, and over 130 kids signed up and got active while learning the game of football from Overton, one of Alabama’s top defenders, and the Milton football team.  

“Honestly, it was my first camp I had ever ran, and I was really excited and blessed,” Overton said at Alabama’s media day. “Seeing all those little kids running around, having fun and really getting to enjoy themselves. Getting out of the house. There’s a lot of kids in the house. I know video games are becoming big now. But just seeing new kids that haven’t even stepped on a field yet be able to get out there and smile, have fun.”

Overton’s commitment to community service has not gone unnoticed. He was one of 116 college football players named to the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list. This award is regarded as college football’s premier award for community service and celebrates athletes who use their platform to serve others and create positive change. Overton was also named to the 2025 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team in July.

On top of this, Overton has been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list and the Nagurski Trophy watch list.

“It means a lot to me,” Overton said. “Like, I’ve never really been nominated for any awards prior to this year and just knowing I’m getting eyes just makes me want to work harder and makes me want to be a better person in general.”

In the future, Overton intends to develop a foundation to support mental health benefits for vulnerable adolescents.

In less than two weeks, Overton will have a chance to try and make as big of an impact on the field as he is off the field when Alabama rolls into Tallahassee to face Florida State on Aug. 30.