Keelon Russell sends major warning to every defense remaining on the Tide’s schedule

Keelon Russell is feeling confident in the connection he has with Ryan Coleman-Williams after the two connected five times for 130 yards against East Carolina to open the season.

The pair got off to a bit of a rocky start against the Pirates when Coleman-Williams dropped two of the first few passes Russell threw his way. The Alabama wide receiver responded well and finished the game leading the Tide in receiving.

Russell told reporters after the game why he remains confident in the dynamic wide receiver and let everybody know he feels the two will be looked at as the best duo in the country before the season is over.

“The guy is just a player,” Coleman-Williams said. “He’s an athlete. On and off the field, stuff doesn’t bother him like that. He came to me, he was like, “I’m gonna get you right. I’m gonna get us better.” And at the end of the season, you’re gonna be looking at the best duo in the country. And that guy has a mindset of steel. Nothing gets in his head; a drop is not gonna get in his head, and we’re just gonna keep pushing. You gotta have a winning mindset, as I said, and we connected on a lot of more routes, a lot more plays that got us in field goal range or got us a touchdown. We just keep all the negativity or the bad things behind us and keep playing football.”

Coleman-Williams evaluated his performance after the game while talking about the Tide’s offense needing to improve as a whole.

“Whenever it’s Week 1, it’s never as good as you think,” Coleman-Williams said. “You know, going back and watching the film, it’s never as good as you think and never as bad as you think. As a whole, we felt like we left some things out there, including myself, obviously, and just watching it on the sideline, not gonna blame it on Week 1, but we definitely have to focus in this upcoming week with an SEC opponent on limiting mistakes and just being extremely consistent on first and second down.”

Alabama will open up SEC play against Kentucky Saturday, and according to Russell, big plays should be expected from him and Coleman-Williams.