Alabama football’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb believes the Crimson Tide’s freshman quarterback, Keelon Russell exceeded expectations at Alabama this spring.
Russell flashed glimpses of his potential to the Alabama offensive coaching staff while competing for the Tide’s starting quarterback position with upperclassmen, Ty Simpson and Austin Mack. Grubb revealed Monday Simpson is the frontrunner in the competition heading into the summer when he stated Simpson would start if Alabama had a game ‘tomorrow.’ Russell has still managed to impress the veteran coordinator.
“Honestly, Keelon exceeded my expectations,” Grubb said. “I think for a young man his age, he never gave into that opportunity. We challenge him with that ‘don’t give into ‘I’m a freshman’ and this and that. And he didn’t. He reminds me — and I say this all the time and I mean it as the biggest compliment, he reminds me so much of Micheal Penix and his demeanor. He has such a calm demeanor. Sometimes you need to find the other edge of that and put a little bit of rush on it but he did a great job. He had a couple days at the end where he wish he would’ve played better but man I thought he made huge strides.”
The Texas native also received praise from Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.
“He had some really big days,” DeBoer said. “You saw a lot of flashes of what he’s capable of.”
He’s already displayed his raw talent this spring. Now the next question will be can Russell take the next step this summer? The answer to this question has the potential to be pivotal in the coming months as Alabama looks to take its quarterback battle into the fall.
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