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Fingernail-biting Alabama football fans will be furious if the Crimson Tide are left out of the CFP bracket. Still, there are plenty of reasons to expect more hardware to be added to the Tuscaloosa trophy case relatively soon. Recruiting five-star quarterback Keelon Russell (Duncanville, TX) away from SMU is just one example of the brand being bigger than any former coach and worth more than some short-term NIL dollars.
At least, that's how it seems after ClutchPoints got some time in the huddle with the high school phenom days before making the commitment official. It was not an easy decision, especially with the ACC upstart setting up a big-money shop just down the street. Then again, Russell almost flipped sports not too long ago.
“That SMU to Alabama flip, I went from the city hero to the city villain,” Russell joked. “The process that I had was a very mental one, to be honest. Not only did other people doubt me, but I also doubted myself. It was to a point where I was wondering if I was going to be a basketball player or a football player.”
Confidence will not be a problem from now on, not with over 50 touchdowns and a chance to three-peat on the line. After the preps career, it's on to Alabama football and their second-to-none support system that made a big difference in winning over Russell. Every other program is behind Saban's setup for an NFL pipeline. That process is still in place, drawing prospects from across the country to the Crimson Tide under Kalen DeBoer.
“Trust and development was the biggest part,” Russell declared. “I was committed to SMU. They had the trust. They had the development part but when you get a call from Alabama, that's the goal for a football player. You get a call from Alabama, you're going to be first round, you're gonna be a draft pick.”
“That development and getting me to where I want to be was probably the biggest thing (in committing to Alabama),” Russell continued. “Going into these next few years I want to progress in the things that will make me into an NFL superstar one day. I'm looking long-term, not really short-term. Yeah, it's going to be fun playing for three, four years at Bama but I'm looking to play infinity years in the NFL.”
The locker room might need a better DJ to amp up the hype before games though.
“I'm an R&B kind of guy,” Russell admitted. “I can turn it up to some hip hop but I'm R&B. I'm a chill dude trying to listen to chill music, especially on a sunny day.”
Russell running the AUX cord might start too many internal fights, especially in going back and forth between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
“Drake, I'm going to go with Drake,” Russell hedged when asked to pick. “I love Kendrick, it's amazing, but, well, man I just thought of three songs. I'm going to have to say Kendrick to be honest.”
Keelon Russell's winding road to Alabama football
Alabama's newest freshman quarterback learned a lot about himself while battling for recognition.
“Leading up to my sophomore year, not a lot of people talk about that,” Russell said. “People just think that, hey, he committed to Alabama as a five-star and I take it as disrespectful. Nobody saw the behind-the-scenes of where I was when I came up. Nobody saw the grind. Nobody saw me winning Elite 11. I started grinding more than anyone else in those hot summers.”
Oh, the QB1 was corrected, every Power Five school in the country secured clips of that performance. Yet Russell remained steadfast while stoking up some motivation in a very Michael Jordan kind of way.
“Well, people saw it, but nobody talked about me winning Elite 11 to get a fifth star,” Russell replied. “Nobody talked about me winning other camps to get the fifth star. Everybody just thinks ‘Oh he committed to Alabama' so they gave him a fifth star. That's one of the biggest things motivating me to get better, prove the haters wrong.”
The biggest thing for achieving those goals was an easy answer.
“First, can't be a dumb quarterback,” Russell laughed. “I learned about my character during this process. I built that up and developed great confidence. I became a leader and somebody who can take on a role at any time. Somebody willing to step into the fire when it's time to do it and just overall a person who's out there to go get something. I'm a determined young man who is willing to do anything for the greatness of himself.”
Every NFL scout in the NIL era is going to lead with one question: But does he love the game? Well, Russell has been willing to travel anywhere to find the best competition including the Tuscaloosa campus. No one is given any special treatment on the Crimson Tide's depth chart after all.
“I love the game tremendously. I first started playing when I was five or six,” Russell stated. “The first team I played for was the DeSoto Cowboys. That is probably the biggest, or one of the biggest, Little League teams in America. Then I transferred over to Havoc.”
His favorite players and quarterbacks span eras and playing styles but also included a couple of the names regularly cursed by Crimson Tide fans.
“My favorite quarterback, I probably have to go with Tim Tebow in college, but my favorite all-time NFL player is Peyton Manning,” Russell replied. “I just love the dude and we ain't even got to look at the stat lines or any of that stuff. Five-time MVP is just amazing. Yes, Tom Brady has the rings, but MVP is you! In the new era, I probably say Patrick Mahomes. Bro is a freak athlete. Who doesn't love Patrick?
Keelon Russell investing in community, education
Keelon Russell is a natural passer but the quarterback is running with every opportunity provided by Alabama football, including a chance to learn at the highest level. Room to learn, grow, and live is quite literally in high demand.
“My biggest thing that I already discussed with everybody is getting into the real estate program, real estate stuff, after football,” Russell explained. “There is only a limited amount of time in playing football so I feel like that's one of the biggest things, getting that opportunity to be around real estate. Getting to the business program and learning about marketing, the financials, handling having money, and stuff like that. I also did some classes in architecture as well.”
However, a Champions for Literacy fundraising program was Russell's biggest high school senior project. He was Champions for Literacy's first “Impact Player” in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex area and is closing in on a huge fundraising goal as the fall semester winds down.
“I want to go somewhere to help other people,” Russell began. “Helping the community out as best I can and just being the person behind the football helmet. I want to be remembered as somebody willing to do anything for the community, somebody who is willing to help out the others around the community. Having that opportunity to help the kids, especially helping the young kids with books could lead to anything in life. The kids need the basics like reading that will set them up for life. Being able to help on that level is just a blessing for me. That's one of the biggest things that I want to do when I get everything situated is help others out.”
Reading helps Russell remain a child at heart in ways.
“Growing up, I was a comic book reader, The Avengers books, the Minecraft books, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, I used to read those all the time,” laughed Russell. “I haven't read any books lately, for real, but I'm going to try. I'm trying to get into that mindset of reading but I was always a math guy growing up.”
The math added up in the end for Alabama football. As for that first vacation once the NFL dream comes true? It will require an in-flight movie.
“I got a girlfriend so it's got to be romantic,” Russell blushed. “It's got to be out of the country, maybe Greece…but I love the Transformers. It's an epic movie. I love action movies with all my heart. Action movies and SpongeBob.”
