Kalen DeBoer
was right about Keelon Russell
.
The Alabama football coach
said he knew something was special about the Texas
2025 quarterback when DeBoer watched his film. But when he and the coaching staff saw Russell in person in the spring, those things became even more verified.
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"It's like, 'Wow, this guy is what we think. And these little nuances, you know, that we think are special, definitely are,'" DeBoer said. "And you could see that then, as the summer went along, everyone else started to see that as well. Now you see the production this fall, it's on another level."
Russell rose from a top 300 four-star quarterback committed to SMU, to the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class per 247Sports' composite rankings in less than a year, growing into the face of the DeBoer's first recruiting class with the Crimson Tide
.
To DeBoer, it starts with Russell's arm talent: the quarterback's accuracy, his ability to throw out of different arms slots, his ability to be an athlete behind center and make plays.
Those are the things Russell continues to showcase at Duncanville High School with 6,919 yards passing, 87 touchdowns and five interceptions in 27 games over the past two seasons per MaxPreps
.
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Those attributes stood out on film. In person, DeBoer said, was when he got to see Russell's personality and his leadership.
"There's a swagger about him," DeBoer said. "There's a confidence about him. He's helped become a major part of bringing and keeping this class together."
Russell is one of three five-star players to commit to Alabama
in 2025 along with cornerback Dijon Lee and offensive lineman Michael Carroll.
Russell is the highest-rated quarterback to sign with Alabama since Bryce Young
in 2020.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at
cgay@gannett.com
or follow him
@_ColinGay
on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News:
What Kalen DeBoer said about Alabama football 2025 5-star QB Keelon Russell
