As the Alabama Crimson Tide readies itself for the 2025 college football season, freshman quarterback Keelon Russell is getting his first taste of football as the program opened spring practice last week.
OC Ryan Grubb Compares Keelon Russell to 2 NFL Players
Russell is one of the most highly anticipated recruits this year, ranked as the No. 2 overall player in his class. Even though the school already has a skilled group of quarterbacks, Russell has made fans of the coaching staff, including new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Grubb, who has worked with NFL quarterbacks before, compared Russell to Jake Haener (with a $4,544,816 contract) and Michael Penix (who has a $22,882,636 deal).
“One of the things I noticed, think about Jake Haener way back to Fresno State,” Grubb said. “He’s at the Saints now, got a really whippy quick release. Once he made his decision, he was very decisive with the ball. I see that with Key a lot. Keelon’s vision reminds me of Michael (Penix) a little bit.
“He has good wide vision with the field and can see it even when he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on. So, he’s still working through all the processes, but he’ll get there. He’s a good player.”
“Keelon [Russell’s] vision reminds me of Michael Penix a little bit. He has good, wide vision with the field and can see it even when he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on…”
Ryan Grubb’s response when asked how Keelon compares to other young quarterbacks he has coached pic.twitter.com/r482JRPRIk
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) March 5, 2025
Even as a freshman, Russell’s calmness under pressure has been a talking point to his coaches.
“Keelon is awesome, man,” Grubb said. “He’s very unflappable. Even when things don’t go right, and they invariably will for a freshman quarterback, I think he’s done an awesome job just kind of staying the course and being very steady, and he can make a lot of plays.”
Russell enrolled early, which will see him compete for the starting quarterback spot in his first season. He’ll be up against Ty Simpson and redshirt sophomore Austin Mack for the starting role.
The 6’3” athlete has also been working on his physical development, gaining 17 pounds since joining Alabama. As head coach Kalen DeBoer told reporters.
“He looks good right now. Strong. Moves around. He’s just a good all-around athlete,” DeBoer said. “The weight program for him, for any new guy, is going to be critical. It’s good to get that first phase under your belt. That’s why being an early enrollee is so important.
“Obviously, now and through the spring, the reason — there’s multiple reasons, but one of the reasons why we go every other day and not back-to-back ever is just so we can get big days of lifting in, really, a minimum three times a week,” the coach continued.
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People will first watch him on the gridiron during Alabama’s A-Day spring game on April 12, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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