How Alabama’s Keelon Russell Has Grown Through Four Games

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-- The Crimson Tide rolled over South Carolina on Saturday with a 49-18 win at home. OC Ryan Grubb spoke to the media Monday morning and spoke about the overall development and growth of starting quarterback Keelon Russell. Russell has shown significant growth through just the first four weeks of the season, from week one against ECU to this past Saturday.

Grubb stated, "But if you go back and watch Game one, then you watch this football game (vs. South Carolina), and you see the traffic in the pocket and how calm Keelon looks at times at the back end of the pocket, I think there's a direct correlation there between his decision-making and how he feels and looks at the back end of the pocket. I think just his composure has shown up."

Ahead of the Tide's matchup with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Russell has compiled a fantastic resume with 1,129 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions, while also carrying the ball 32 times for 168 yards and three scores on the ground. Grubb also praised the week of practice from Russell, saying that "But for me, that's what it felt like this week in prep with Keelon. He's so serious and intentional. The Saturday walk-through, I went crazy, in a good way. We're getting set; Keelon is motioning one of our tight ends, and one of our receivers moved his feet, and Keelon stopped everything, made sure everyone was set, and we snap the ball with seven seconds left on the clock in a walk-through before a game. I told the guys, 'We're going to win by 50, if we operate like that.' We operate like that, it'll be hard to stop these guys."

Grubb also commented on the mentality from Russell on not being satisfied at times.

“I think it matches the unit. I don't think any of our guys think we're even close to done. I mean, we obviously have a lot of work to do. You can pick any game, and there's a ton of things we got to fix and get better at. And I just, you know, we're lucky. You know, like I said, this is an incredible group of kids. Just how they respond to coaching and keeping the fridge empty and staying hungry is what you want. And I don't think anybody gets done with a game and feels great about the third quarter or some of the things where you fall short. I think there's a desire, a genuine desire by the guys that know we're playing well at times, but we're still faltering at times. So they know how hard this conference is. I think that's the part that impresses me: there are a lot of guys that haven't played against some of the teams in this conference. They know what the standard is. They know how hard it is to win football games in this conference. It doesn't matter who it is, South Carolina or Georgia or Mississippi State. They're all tough wins, and so I don't think they take any that lightly.”

Alabama will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, this Saturday morning to take on the Bulldogs at 11:00 am on ABC.

Ryan Bond is an intern for Tide 100.9 with an avid interest in college football and college basketball. To keep up with Ryan, follow him on X at @Ryanb5172