Alabama QB commit and Elite 11 MVP Keelon Russell gets bumped to a five-star
Kalen DeBoer is certainly making a splash in his first year on the recruiting trail at Alabama.
When he was first hired after Nick Saban's retirement, many fans were beyond concerned about his recruiting efforts at Washington and how far of a drop-off the program would experience. When Saban was at the helm, he could snap his fingers and have the No. 1 class in the country in seconds. Now granted, winning six titles in Tuscaloosa will do that for you, but a major part of his success was the consistent dominance in recruiting even despite all of the coaching changes.
Through his first few months on the job, DeBoer's first class ranks as the No. 2 in the country and is headlined by one of the biggest risers in the recruiting rankings at quarterback. Many people were curious about what DeBoer's plans for life after Jalen Milroe would look like. He brought former four-star, Austin Mack, with him from Washington, and also has former five-star Ty Simpson in the room.
However, DeBoer made it a point to nab a quarterback in the 2025 class despite the fact that many had already pledged to another program. Right away, he set his sights on four-star Keelon Rusell, who at the time was committed to SMU. It didn't take to change his mind, as Russell took an official to Alabama on May 31 and flipped his commitment on June 4.
Keelon Russell
_pres1dentkee/IG
Flipping a quarterback from SMU and tabbing him as their first choice was a move that other SEC programs scoffed at, but when Russell won the Elite 11 MVP shortly after, those criticisms turned into realizations of DeBoer finding a gem. At the Elite 11, Russell outdueled notable names like LSU commit Bryce Underwood, Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair, and Notre Dame commit Deuce Knight.
His performance was one that many speculated would earn him more respect from the recruting outlets, and it certainly did. After updating their rankings, 247Sports now has Russell as a composite five-star, sliding up 10 spots from the No. 34 recruit to the No. 24.
Russell will have a new sense of confidence heading into his senior year, which may only terrify defenses more. This past season he threw for 3,483 yards with 38 touchdowns to just three interceptions, while also using his legs and rushing for an additional six scores en route to leading Duncanville to their second-straight Texas 6A D-1 state title.
The future is looking extremely bright for Alabama's quarterback room.
