Nick Saban compares Keelon Russell to a former Alabama quarterback

Nick Saban gave his thoughts on the Alabama Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback Keelon Russell on Friday.

“First of all, you know, Keon Russell, the maturity that he plays with, and he shows for a guy that’s a young player who’s only started in, what, four or five games now, is pretty phenomenal to me, and his instincts as a player and his ability to make plays, he is a playmaker,” Saban said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

The legendary football coach went on to compare Russell to one of his former quarterbacks at Alabama.

“I always thought Bryce Young a point guard playing quarterback,” Saban said. “This guy is very similar. Knows when to scramble, keeps his eyes downfield, makes plays, running it, throwing it, extending plays. So this is a guy that has special instincts and really I always say processing is the most important thing for the quarterback. This guy can do that very well, and he can extend plays. And I think that has helped create a dynamic on this team that is probably Kalen DeBoer’s best team that he’s had in the three years that he’s been here, because this team has really come together, I think, in a positive way.”

Young won the Heisman Trophy in his first year as a starter for the Crimson Tide.

Russell is in the Heisman conversation at the moment.