Tag: Keelon Russell

Alabama QB commit Keelon Russell named Elite 11 MVP

2025 four-star quarterback and Alabama football commit Keelon Russell was named the Elite 11 MVP!

For the first time since 2016, Alabama Crimson Tide football has a new quarterback named as the Elite 11 MVP with class of 2025 four-star quarterback [autotag]Keelon Russell[/autotag] earning the honor.

The last Alabama player to win the prestigious award was former five-star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Russell was one of several high-profile quarterbacks that competed in the three-day event. The event includes individual drills, 7-on-7 competition, and instruction from quarterback experts. Overall, Russell was viewed as the best performer and was awarded the Elite 11 MVP.

Russell flipped his commitment from SMU to Alabama on June 4. Since then, Russell has confirmed that he is locked in with the Crimson Tide.

He has been active on the recruiting trail as well. The native of Duncanville, Texas is often seen reaching out to fellow prospects in the ’25 recruiting class on X to get them to commit to the Crimson Tide.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its efforts on the recruiting trail.

Five-star WR target Kaliq Lockett shares selfie with Kalen DeBoer

Can Alabama land the five-star WR from Texas?

Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide football coaching staff have turned out an incredible month of June on the recruiting trail. Between official visits, commitments, and hosting camps, DeBoer and his team have generated a lot of buzz in the industry.

DeBoer and the Tide hosted one of the prized recruits in the class of 2025 during this midweek with five-star wide receiver [autotag]Kaliq Lockett[/autotag] spending time in Tuscaloosa for an official visit.

Up until Alabama landed a commitment from quarterback [autotag]Keelon Russell[/autotag], the Tide were not considered in the mix for the talented wideout, but now appear to be among the leaders for the coveted prospect.

While on his official visit, Lockett released a selfie taken with the Crimson Tide’s new head coach on his social media profile.

Take a look!

Lockett appeared to enjoy his time in Tuscaloosa with Coach DeBoer and the Alabama staff and I wouldn’t count the Tide out just yet.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Lockett’s recruitment and provide all updates as they become available.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Oregon QB target cancels visit to Eugene after commitment flip to Alabama

The Oregon Ducks are no longer expected to get a visit from 4-star QB Keelon Russell following his flip from SMU to Alabama.

The Oregon Ducks already have one quarterback committed in the 2025 recruiting class with 4-star Akili Smith Jr. being locked in since last year. However, it became clear this spring that they were pursuing a second, and the main target was Duncanville’s 4-star Keelon Russell.

Russell, who was previously committed to SMU, was a flip target for the Ducks, but the Alabama Crimson Tide stepped in the way of that this past week, flipping the QB who is ranked as the 38th-best player in the 2025 class.

It appears that Russell will now be shutting down his recruitment, and will no longer take any of the official visits that he had scheduled, one of which was to Eugene.

The Ducks will still likely pursue a second QB in the 2025 class, with 5-star Husan Longstreet expected to be the target, per multiple resorts.

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Pony up to ‘Bama? Alabama football flips Keelon Russell from SMU

Keelon Russell is headed to Alabama.

Alabama football pulled off a big-time flip on Wednesday, landing quarterback Keelon Russell. The four-star had been committed to SMU before committing to the SEC juggernaut.

It is a big-time recruiting win for Alabama to not just land the consensus four-star recruit but to flip him from his hometown school.

247Sports has Russell as the No. 39 player in the nation in the 2025 class. According to ESPN, he is the top quarterback recruit in the class.

Baylor, Duke, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon, TCU and Virginia Tech were all offers in what was a crowded recruitment for Russell.

For SMU, losing Russell stings. The starting quarterback at Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas), Russell played in SMU’s backyard. Duncanville finished sixth last season in the USA TODAY HSS Super 25.

Last year, Russell completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 3,267 yards. He had 35 touchdowns and three interceptions.

 

With the commitment of Russell, the Crimson Tide now have nine commitments. They now have the eighth-best recruiting class in the nation in the 247Sports rankings.

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Alabama flips commitment from SMU commit, 2025 4-star QB Keelon Russell

Alabama made a splash on the recruiting landscape on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide flipped the commitment of 2025 four-star quarterback Keelon Russell.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have flipped the commitment of 2025 four-star quarterback Keelon Russell. Russell had been commited to SMU since September.

Russell is one of the top-ranked quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class. He is a dual-threat quarterback that excels at making plays with his legs and arm. Russell plays for one of the most prestigious high school football programs in the country in Duncanville High School.

During his junior season, Russell passed for 3,267 yards and 35 touchdowns. In addition, he rushed for 304 yards and four touchdowns.

Russell possesses the necessary traits to have success at the next level. His ability to break down opposing defenses is second to none. Alabama fans should be excited to have Russell on board for the 2025 recruiting class.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its efforts on the recruiting trail.

The Athletic evaluates Florida’s 2025 class heading into official visits

This is a BIG month for the Orange and Blue on the college football recruiting front.

The next four weeks are big ones for Florida football as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. roll out the red carpet for official visits to the Swamp by members of the 2025 cycle. The Gators are set to host some of the top talent in the nation in hopes of bolstering a lagging recruiting class heading into summer.

The Orange and Blue currently rank No. 45 in 247Sports’ 2025 team recruiting rankings but will have plenty of opportunities to climb up quickly if the program can impress the right players. The Athletic’s Manny Navarro recently looked at what’s cooking in Gainesville and sees a lot of potential in Florida’s possibilities.

“Billy Napier had the No. 3 recruiting class in the last cycle until his team lost five straight games to finish 5-7 and, in the process, lost several big-time commitments,” Navarro reflected on the previous class.

“The Gators did hold onto five-star quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] and two high-profile in-state prospects — five-star defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] and four-star linebacker [autotag]Myles Graham[/autotag] — to finish with the No. 13 class in the 2024 cycle.”

Five intriguing visitors

“Florida is the mix for some elite prospects in the Class of 2025.”

Navarro lists wide [autotag]Caleb Cunningham[/autotag] (five-star, No. 13), linebacker [autotag]Tavion Wallace[/autotag] (four-star, No. 52), quarterback [autotag]Keelon Russell[/autotag] (four-star, No. 79), offensive tackle [autotag]Micah DeBose[/autotag] (four-star, No. 82) and quarterback [autotag]Antwann Hill[/autotag] (four-star, No. 127) as Florida’s five most intriguing visitors this summer.

Official visit schedule

“Cunningham, a Mississippi native who is ranked as the No. 2 receiver in the class, has been on campus twice and will return June 7,” Navarro begins.

“He also has visits lined up to Auburn (Friday), Tennessee (June 14) and Alabama (June 21). With Lagway part of Florida’s 2024 signing class, quarterback might not seem to be a huge position of need, but the Gators are still looking to land a good one and have Russell, an SMU commitment from Texas, and Hill, a Georgia native, on the docket for visits on back-to-back weekends.”

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4-star QB Keelon Russell schedules official visit to Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks are expecting to get 4-star QB Keelon Russell to Eugene on an official visit later this summer.

The Oregon Ducks already have one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 recruiting class in the fold with legacy player Akili Smith Jr. committed since last year, but they’re working to bolster the position and add another passer as well.

One of the primary targets is Duncanville HS star Keelon Russell, a 4-star QB who is currently committed to the SMU Mustangs.

Russell is rated as the No. 38 overall player in the 2025 class, and the No. 6 QB. He is currently scheduled to take an official visit to Oregon on June 21st, joining teammate Dakorien Moore, a 5-star WR ranked as the No. 1 pass-catcher in the 2025 class.

This last week at the On3 Elite Series in Nashville, Russell has been spending time with Smith Jr., and he will be with him again later this month in Eugene.

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Oregon Ducks offer 4-star SMU QB commit Keelon Russell

The Ducks extended an interesting offer to 4-star QB Keelon Russell on Wednesday.

Oregon Ducks running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples might see his connection to Duncanville start to pay dividends soon.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Ducks extended a scholarship offer to 4-star QB Keelon Russell, one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class. Russell, a player at Duncanville High School in Texas, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 63 overall player and No. 7 QB in the 2025 class.

Samples, who the Ducks hired to replace Carlos Locklyn last month, is the son of legendary Texas coach Reginald Samples, who is the head coach at Duncanville HS. This school is known as a hotbed for high school talent and is currently home to 5-star WR Dakorien Moore, the No. 1 WR in the 2025 class who Oregon has been after in this cycle.

Russell is currently verbally committed to the SMU Mustangs, but it’s apparent that Oregon wants him, despite already having a commitment from 4-star QB Akili Smith Jr, an Oregon legacy player. Smith is rated by 247Sports as the No. 100 player in the 2025 class, and the No. 9 QB.

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Top-rated quarterback in 2025 class books an official visit to UF

A top-rated quarterback from Duncansville, Texas has booked an official visit with the Florida Gators this summer.

Florida football is well into its spring practices and has welcomed some of the top recruits in the nation to observe how the program operates.

Now there’s another name being added to the future guest list, but it’s booked for the middle of the summer.

Four-star quarterback [autotag]Keelon Russell[/autotag] recently spoke with Swamp247 and announced that he will be heading to Gainesville for an official visit during the weekend of June 7.

A talented athlete like Russell would usually join the fray while the Gators prepare for the Orange and Blue game, but Russell has prior obligations with his high school’s track team.

The Ducansville, Texas, native has already had conversations with Florida head coach Billy Napier back in February during an Under Armour football camp session.

“(Napier) said my game is related to Lamar Jackson’s and how my offensive skills would be perfect here and fit here at Florida,” Russell said. “He was telling me how they didn’t have any quarterbacks committed in the 2025 class, so he was saying how they would love for me to come do the job.

“He also said I can build any type of dream that I have here. Then he offered me. It was a wow moment having a dream school offering me. I never thought, so it was a dream come true. I was excited, but at the same time there’s some trust going on there.”

It’s no secret that the young recruit has always had a preexisting love for the University of Florida, even confirming with Swamp247 that UF is one of his preferred choices.

“They jumped all the way up my board,” Russell said. “They can be top three or top two. I can see them being a school I am interested in highly. They are up on the top of my board now. Florida is a dream school, so having Florida is real congratulating to me. It’s going to be up on the top of my board for sure.”

Keelon Russell is a four-star quarterback who is, according to 247Sports, ranked as the No. 63 prospect while being regarded as the 7th-best QB in the nation.

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Four-star 2025 QB prospect leaves first Swamp visit with offer

Florida hosted four-star quarterback Keelon Russell on campus for the first time over the weekend and impressed the SMU commit.

The Florida Gators hosted SMU quarterback commit Keelon Russell on Saturday, and he left town with an offer in hand and a lot to think about, according to Swamp247’s Blake Alderman.

“I enjoyed my time,” Russell said. “… They gave me a big lift and sparked a spot to where I think this could be a place that heavily recruits me.”

Despite his commitment, it is clear that Russell is leaving the door open for any team that wants to make a strong push for him. The Gators appear to be a potential suitor with Billy Napier presenting Russell with an offer at the end of the visit.

Russell called it a “wow moment” for him and a “dream come true” before admitting that Florida jumped into his top two or three at the moment.

While he didn’t give a date, Russell expects to return to Gainesville soon. Spring camp is the next opportunity for recruits to stop by the Swamp.

Rusell has earned a fourth star everywhere besides 247Sports in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He is No. 247 overall on the On3 industry ranking, which considers all four major services.

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