Keelon Russell doesn’t look old style.
At 19, he is not outdated in any respect.
He eats a bag of skittles earlier than every sport, washes down the sugary snacks with Gatorade, listens to beats of Atlanta rap artist Lil Child and might usually be discovered taking part in the NBA 2K online game.
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Old-fashioned? Absolutely not.
However you do not know the half of it. There’s one other facet of Keelon Russell, the beginning quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In reality, you in all probability do not know a lot in regards to the child they name El Presidente, the one who left a Texas highschool because the second highest-ranked recruit within the nation, the athletic “freak” with a rocket of an arm who’s vaulted up Heisman Trophy odds.
Russell is, in reality, old style. Higher but, he is an “outdated soul,” says his former highschool offensive coordinator, Todd Peterman. He is mature nicely past his years, one thing Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer discovered final summer season after the tragic loss of life of Keelon’s twin sister, Kiersten.
These on the funeral gathered not round an older brother or father determine, however round Keelon.
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“He is been via some stuff,” DeBoer informed Yahoo Sports activities this week throughout an interview. “I noticed a facet of him that blew me away.”
Keelon’s maturity, his humbleness, is a product of his mother and pa, in addition to one of many nation’s premier quarterback trainers, Brad Frazier, a 66-year-old white-haired, bespeckled man and retired tech CEO who cruises round Frisco, Texas, in a white Hummer wrapped in an commercial for his enterprise.
You may by no means guess the title.
Previous College Quarterbacks.
Frazier remembers the primary time he witnessed Russell throw a soccer as a freshman in highschool. Throughout one windy, chilly day at a Dallas-area soccer discipline, Peterman arrived with two quarterbacks — one a rising sophomore Frazer had by no means heard of and the opposite a rising senior poised to be the starter that coming season for the Duncanville Excessive Panthers, a powerhouse program in suburban south Dallas.
After solely getting garbage-time work as a freshman final season, Alabama QB Keelon Russell has surged onto the nationwide scene early this 12 months. (Jason Clark/Getty Pictures)
(Jason Clark through Getty Pictures)
From the sector, Peterman nudged Frazier, “I would like you to actually watch this freshman. He is acquired it.”
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“He threw towards a 25 mile-an-hour wind,” Frazier remembers. “While you see it, you simply type of know.”
Finally, after an damage to that senior within the 2022 season opener, everybody in Duncanville noticed it. It manifested into consecutive state championships, a profession highschool file of 42-2, greater than 10,000 yards passing and 127 touchdowns. They acquired to see the outdated soul, a wiry beanpoll of a quarterback lower via a few of the nation’s finest prep defenses — even his personal (he performed and practiced on a crew with now-Texas defensive finish Colin Simmons and threw passes to Dakorien Moore, now at Oregon, and towards defensive again Javion Vacation, now at SMU).
From under-recruited to Heisman contender
Russell’s on-field theatrics have now gone mainstream, which has produced their share of mispronunciations. April Moore, Keelon’s mom, usually reminds those who her son’s title is not pronounced KEE-Garden. It is KEE-Lin.
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Talking of mainstream, as No. 6 Alabama (5-0) prepares to host No. 2 Georgia (5-0) in a showdown in Tuscaloosa, Russell’s big-play potential has burst onto the nationwide scene. He leads the SEC in yards-per-attempt (10.71) and has a whopping 48 completions of at the least 10 yards. After a bumpy begin — two touchdowns and three turnovers within the first two video games — he is had 13 scores and nil turnovers within the final three. In reality, he grew to become the primary Alabama participant within the final 30 years to account for at the least 300 yards of offense, three passing touchdowns and one speeding in three consecutives video games.
In a world the place coaches are transferring apart floundering younger, extremely paid quarterbacks — see Colorado, Tennessee and possibly Michigan — Russell finds himself fielding questions in regards to the Heisman.
As you’d anticipate, he brushes off such discuss.
“Probably not fearful in regards to the Heisman proper now,” he informed reporters after Alabama’s 56-23 win at Mississippi State.
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This week is completely different. In any case, it’s Georgia — Russell’s hardest check but.
In an indication of the week’s magnitude, persons are performing in a different way. As an illustration, Keelon’s father and mom are politely declining interview requests. That goes too for one in all Keelon’s different quarterback trainers, Brad Stanfield, who despatched to Yahoo Sports activities an announcement noting that he didn’t need to “take the sunshine off what they’re constructing.”
Keelon himself has principally solely been made accessible to the media for a brief interval after video games. To inform his story, interviews from varied shops should be patched collectively, together with his cowl piece final 12 months within the nationwide journal Males’s Well being and a 15-minute video produced by the college’s inner media crew, the place Keelon acknowledged his obsession with the game.
He says he emerged as soon as from concussion protocol in highschool to throw 5 touchdowns in a sport as a result of, he mentioned to himself, “Screw that! I would sacrifice every part to assist my crew win.”
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“I’ll die for this sport,” he mentioned. “Going via tough occasions in my life, with the ability to be on the sector, it brings peace to me.”
Russell fashions his psychological sport off of Tom Brady. He is a movie junkie, prides himself in analyzing defenses pre-snap, studying his progressions and, regardless of an athleticism that nicely surpasses Brady, standing tall within the pocket. He avoids the temptation to run.
It is an old-school mentality — all of it.
There’s extra.
He reads scripture nightly, acquired re-baptized upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa final 12 months and “isn’t a cash individual,” his mother says. In reality, throughout the interview with Males’s Well being, Keelon says he deliberately “retains it easy.”
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“I am not a flashy individual. I ain’t even acquired no jewellery on,” he mentioned. “Simply garments and footwear.”
Easy however severe. Do not name Russell a dual-threat quarterback. He is a quarterback who can run, too. In reality, he can run actually quick. Russell joined the Duncanville observe crew forward of his senior season on Peterman’s insistence.
The observe coach known as Peterman after one in all Russell’s first days.
“He is a freak!” the coach yelped on the telephone.
Russell ran a 48-second, 400-meter sprint, and when you’re not aware of that, the typical Olympic medalist time is round 45 seconds.
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“There was this stigmatism with black quarterbacks,” Peterman mentioned. “Me and Key had a dialog about that after I acquired [to Duncanville] and I mentioned, ‘Who offers a s***? Don’t be concerned about how you might be labeled. Do what you do.'”
Ryan Grubb, Alabama’s offensive coordinator, delivered a message to Russell about that earlier than this season.
“If that is all they ever say about you — that you’ve got athletic potential — that might be an insult,” Grubb mentioned he informed the quarterback. “He takes that very critically.”
Vacation, the SMU defensive again who chased down Russell at Duncanville Excessive practices, watches him on tv evade defenders with a few of the identical strikes. He is simply as deadly along with his ft as he’s along with his arm.
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“As you’ll be able to see, he is getting away with tackles now. He is doing stuff,” Vacation mentioned.
In highschool, recruiting websites in contrast Russell to former Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. For DeBoer, Russell most reminds him of a cross between two quarterbacks he is coached: Michael Penix and his starter final 12 months, Ty Simpson.
Throughout a name on Tuesday, DeBoer strikes via his quarterback’s skills one after the other: deep ball, fast launch, escape pace, good instincts and really feel.
Keelon Russell celebrates after Alabama’s win over Mississippi State on Oct. 3. (Justin Ford/Getty Pictures)
(Justin Ford through Getty Pictures)
In a remark to not be under-appreciated, the coach says, “With him, you anticipate the throw that you simply in all probability did not assume might be made. However he makes it.”
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It is why Peterman and Frazier practically blew a fuse when Russell’s faculty recruitment began so slowly.
What are they not seeing right here?
So under-recruited as a junior, Keelon started attending summer season camps along with his father, Brian, a highschool soccer coach himself. He began to create movies and publish on social media. The popularity lastly got here.
Nick Sheridan, then the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and JaMarcus Shephard, a former Alabama assistant now teaching at Oregon State, first visited Duncanville to look at Russell throw his junior season. They reported again one thing that DeBoer nonetheless remembers.
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“This child,” they mentioned, “is the true deal.”
Russell dedicated to SMU earlier than DeBoer known as him in the future to ask if he may slip out of sophistication.
The coach needed to want him a contented birthday — and provide him a scholarship to Alabama. He visited, flipped his dedication and the Tide by no means recruited one other quarterback that cycle.
“While you get a name from Alabama, it’s important to take the decision,” Russell mentioned.
However there’s an alternate path the place none of this truly occurs.
Russell is humble sufficient that he truly needed to switch away from the glamorous quarterback place. He informed his highschool head coach, Reginald Samples, that he ought to transfer to receiver.
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No, Samples informed him, you should not.
Everybody’s fairly enthusiastic about Keelon again house within the Dallas space.
Throughout a name this week, Tabatha Johnson, his second-grade instructor, excitedly gives a reminder to a reporter that, “I’ve by no means been on a telephone interview!” Johnson remembers Keelon main the opposite second-graders exterior for recess the place he proceeded to take over as quarterback in a playground soccer sport.
In reality, Russell returned this previous Could for the college’s discipline day. Johnson nonetheless has movies on her telephone of him serving to educate the children succeed at tug-o-war.
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“It is not bulls*** or pretend,” says Peterman. “He cares about different folks.”
Overcoming tragedy
He is near his household. In reality, his mom lives in Tuscaloosa, transferring there along with her son final 12 months. Keelon describes this as a “headache,” maybe solely half joking.
“My mother is my finest pal,” he acknowledges.
Kiersten, his twin sister, moved to town as nicely.
On June 6, 2025, Tuscaloosa police confirmed the loss of life of Kiersten. Little to no different info was launched, besides a request that privateness for the household be revered.
In a message posted on social media, Keelon wrote, “Shedding a twin sister and daughter is a ache nobody may ever think about.”
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The 2 had been shut, as many twins are. In reality, Peterman says, they usually rode to and from college collectively.
“You choose Keelon up, you needed to get her,” he mentioned with a chuckle.
She performed basketball at Duncanville Excessive and received a state title the identical 12 months that her brother did in soccer. In a earlier interview, April glowed about that season. These on the college known as her “the mom of champions.”
In June, Keelon held a camp in Frisco that introduced collectively 100 children as a part of the Forever24 Basis created in Kiersten’s honor. In his video with the college’s media employees, Keelon did not focus on Kiersten, however he talked about the toughness and fortitude essential to battle adversity as a serious faculty athlete.
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“Who’re you as an individual? What’s your breaking level?” he requested aloud. “You bought to be the identical individual each day.”
Keelon’s dad and mom separated when he was younger, one thing he overtly discusses. He is grateful to have had them each in his life, in addition to his 5 different siblings, together with a 10-year-old brother Harlem who trains with Frazier at Previous College Quarterbacks.
Harlem will, maybe, be the subsequent Keelon Russell — an sudden outdated soul in a world of self-importance, cash and fame.
“He would not should attempt to be cool,” says Peterman. “He’s simply cool. He is El Presidente.”
