Find someone who believes in you as much as Chip Patterson believes in Keelon Russell. The CBS Sports college football analyst highlighted the promising former five-star quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in his massive 100 Days Out post on Thursday. No, you do not need to go that far to see what he had to say about Russell and the Alabama quarterback battle for his 11th prompt.
There is gassing a player up, and then there is Patterson wanting to blast off into orbit with Russell.
"On the Cover 3 Podcast, we have debated whether Keelon Russell or Austin Mack will be the starting quarterback for Alabama this fall, but I'm willing to go one step further and declare him a real threat as QB1, not just in Tuscaloosa but across the entire Southeastern Conference."
After writing he expects Russell to be the best quarterback in the SEC, he did touch on Austin Mack...
"In that sense, I get why Mack would appear like a safer option. But while Mack was dealing with a few nagging injuries that kept him somewhat limited in the spring game, Russell showed a lot of the reasons why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school with a Jayden Daniels player comp."
Patterson then finished by writing the combination of ceiling and opportunity bodes well for Russell.
"There is an electricity factor that powers Russell's ceiling, and if he's guiding the offense, he could surge past the likes of Arch, Trinidad, Gunner and the rest of the contenders for QB1 in the SEC."
Let's just say Russell outplaying Arch Manning, Trindad Chambliss, and Gunner Stockton is possible.
Keelon Russell has the talent and opportunity to be the SEC's best QB
While not all of Patterson's CBS Sports colleagues agree with him on his Russell takes, he is an easy player to root for nevertheless. Russell did have five stars next to his name coming out of high school, but he does feel like the higher ceiling-ed player over the physical freak that is Mack. Although Mack did initially commit to play for Kalen DeBoer over at Washington, Russell is ever bit a Ryan Grubb guy.
When Russell committed to Alabama out of his native Texas, he could not have been more excited to play in Grubb's system. Even though the Seattle Seahawks did win a Super Bowl immediately after he left, Grubb does get the most out of his quarterbacks. He saw Ty Simpson be a first-round pick in April's NFL Draft. Two years ago, Michael Penix Jr. went inside the top 10 after his Washington tenure.
Together, DeBoer and Grubb are going to make sure the best player does start under center for the Crimson Tide. Mack has the body, but Russell has the game. It should not be that hard of a decision, especially when Simpson is no longer part of the equation. His talents complicated things a year ago, but he and the Alabama staff were proven right in him panning out. The same applies to Jalen Milroe...
Overall, Russell has every bit the upside of any SEC starter worth his weight in salt. The big question is if he will make the most out of his big moments. Simpson did more often than not. While Manning has some work to do in that regard, Chambliss and Stockton are among two of the college game's most clutch quarterbacks. Sam Leavitt, John Mateer, and LaNorris Sellers all start in this conference.
Ultimately, the big key for Alabama is not going to be quarterback play, but rather if its defense can hold up, and better yet, can the Crimson Tide run the football with any confidence whatsoever... By the end of the season, Simpson was too beat up from all the punishing hits he took, with opposing defenses knowing all too well that Alabama was mostly useless in the ground game. It has to change.
At this time, we can expect for Russell to live up to the hype, assuming he does win the starting job.
Add us as a preferred source on Google