Kalen DeBoer’s first signing class includes the future quarterback of the University of Alabama football program.
Keelon Russell, a five-star recruit from Duncanville (Texas), never wavered in his dedication to the Crimson Tide.
On Wednesday, he signed with Alabama football, officially joining the team. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound quarterback is one of the more remarkable talents to emerge from the recruitment season. He won the 6A Division I UIL state championship at Duncanville in 2022 and 2023, but he wants to make it three in a row.
Russell has thrown for 3,000-plus yards and nearly 50 touchdowns as a senior. He can make every throw on a football from a variety of angles, while having the athleticism to escape pressure, extend plays, and keep his eyes downfield as a passer. He wants to win a College Football Playoff National Championship and be a Heisman Memorial Trophy winner. Russell shared with Alabama freshman wide receiver, Ryan Williams that he wants to come in and win.
He captured the Most Valuable Player honor at the Elite 11, but Coach DeBoer is more impressed with his leadership skills.
DeBoer highlighted in Wednesday’s presser why Russell was the most significant recruit.
“There is a swagger about him, there is a confidence about him,” DeBoer said of Russell.
“He’s helped become a major part of bringing and keeping this class together which is what you’d want from any leader, but especially your quarterback.”
DeBoer said everything he and his coaching staff saw on tape about Russell lined up with what they saw in person.
“It is really cool when you think about the recruiting process with him,” DeBoer said. “I continue to think of it as there are eyes that we have, feelings that we have when we watched the film that are one thing when it jumps out at you, but I think there are other details we saw from the film that we saw in person that were verified when the coaching staff went out in the spring to see him. It was like ‘wow, this guy is what we think and these little nuances that we think are special are definitely special.’ You can see as the summer went along that everyone else started to see it as well. Now, you see the production this fall is on another level.”
Great players want to play alongside other great players, and Russell brought this class with him.
It’ll be intriguing to see how hard he works in the quarterback room this spring.
Julio Jones was Nick Saban’s first major recruit in his first class, which began in 2008. Jones led Saban to a BCS National Championship in his third season as Alabama’s head coach in 2009.
Russell is DeBoer’s first major recruit from his first class.
