Alabama QB signee Keelon Russell was named the 2024-25 Gatorade National Player of the Year on Wednesday. Russell was named a finalist last week and ultimately beat out Auburn signee Alvin Hendeson and high school junior Jackson Cantwell.
Russell becomes the first Alabama football player to win the prestigious award, given annually for the last 40 years to the best high school football player in the country. He's also the first player from Duncanville High School to win the award.
Russell enjoyed a meteoric rise in his senior season of high school. He was just a three-star recruit when Alabama flipped him from SMU. He then went on to win MVP of the Elite-11 before having a highly successful senior season on the football field, culminating in him earning five-star status and moving all the way up to the No. 2 overall player in the 247 composite rankings.
Russell was surprised at his high school on Tuesday with the award by former Alabama DB and current Dallas Cowboy Trevon Diggs at the end of Russell's football practice.
Past winners of this award include NFL Hall of Famers like Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith. Last year's winner, DJ Lagway, made a big impact as a true freshman with the Florida Gators, something that Russell will undoubtedly hope to duplicate when he arrives in Tuscaloosa soon.