Five-star Alabama football signee Keelon Russell has been named the 2024-25 Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year.
With the announcement Friday, Russell becomes the first Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year out of Duncanville High School. The award recognizes the top high school football player in Texas. Other winners of the award include DJ Lagway (2023-24) and Jackson Arnold (2022-23).
Russell was also named as one of three finalists for Gatorade National Football Player of the Year with Alvin Henderson (Elba, Alabama) and Jackson Cantwell (Nixa, Missouri). Previous winners of this award include Emmitt Smith (1986-87), Peyton Manning (1993-94) and Kyler Murray (2014-15).
Russell, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound dual-threat quarterback is the second-ranked quarterback in the country per the 247Sports Composite. Russell has thrown for more than 3,600 yards through 12 games his senior season with 52 touchdowns while also adding more than 250 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
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Originally an SMU commit, Russell flipped his pledge to the Crimson Tide in June. Russell officially signed with the Crimson Tide and coach Kalen DeBoer on Dec. 4. He is the highest-ranked quarterback recruit for Alabama since Bryce Young in 2018.
Russell is one of four five-stars in Alabama's 2025 cycle, joining cornerback Dijon Lee, offensive lineman Michael Carroll and offensive tackle Ty Haywood. Alabama's 2025 class came in as No. 2 in the nation per 247Sports Composite.
The Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award will be announced later this month.
Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com . Follow her on X @annaesnyder2.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Keelon Russell: Alabama signee Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year
