Kalen DeBoer and his staff can exhale now.
After losing quarterback Julian Sayin, ESPN’s No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 class, to Ohio State soon after Nick Saban announced his retirement, the Crimson Tide finally recovered and got a commitment from dual-threat Keelon Russell, ESPN’s No. 81 overall recruit out of Duncanville, Texas.
Russell originally had chosen SMU. 247 Sports has him much higher at No. 38 overall and the No. 6 quarterback in their 2025 class rankings.
Now there seems like a clear succession plan after Jalen Milroe, from Katy, Texas, who of course will be the starter this upcoming season.
DeBoer and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan started going after Russell soon after they officially took over for Saban, and it seems like they love his big-play potential both throwing and running.
Russell also mentioned to ESPN the development of Michael Penix Jr. under DeBoer as a major factor of why he chose Alabama.
"I think I knew that [Alabama] could do some crazy stuff for me," he said. "I'm going to get there and ball out for sure."
If Russell can eventually emulate Penix Jr.’s evolution with more explosiveness using his legs, there will be crazy stuff to behold on the field.
