TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Keelon Russell completed 17-of-29 passes for 249 yards and ran 13 times for 86 yards and 1 touchdown in his first career start Saturday, and No. 13 Alabama beat East Carolina 48-10 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Russell won two Texas 6A Division I state championships at Duncanville High School before signing with Alabama. He had been committed to SMU from Sept. 21, 2023, until June 4, 2024, when he flipped to the Crimson Tide after an official visit to Tuscaloosa.
On Alabama’s first drive, Russell escaped pressure for a 23-yard run. He directed scoring drives on each of Alabama’s first five possessions. He also hit Ryan Coleman-Williams for a 58-yard gain, and 130 of Russell’s 249 passing yards went to Coleman-Williams, a newly named team captain who dropped two passes in the second quarter.
His 335 total yards were the most by an Alabama quarterback making his first career start since Bryce Young had 343 against Miami in 2021.
Russell fumbled in the third quarter on a reverse with Coleman-Williams. He also drew an intentional grounding penalty. Late in the fourth quarter, Austin Mack replaced him. Alabama named Russell its starter over Mack on Aug. 22 after a competition that ran through spring practice and fall camp.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said in his postgame press conference that Russell’s poise held up when the bullets were flying, and that the mistakes were a wasted play and a burned timeout, easy stuff that can get cleaned up.
“Just taking off and going and making plays,” DeBoer said. “Balancing that with keeping his eyes down the field. I think he’s just a tough guy to defend, and we knew that. I thought he took advantage of his ability. We were able to really open up a lot of the playbook, and first, second down, if we’re in the perfect spot for third down, you can see what type of weapon that he can be to continue to move the chains.”
Alabama finished with 480 yards and 27 first downs. The Crimson Tide ran for 227 yards after ranking 15th in the SEC in rushing last season.
East Carolina managed 162 yards and 5 first downs. The Pirates went 0-for-9 on third down and gained 2 yards on 22 carries. Mitch Griffis, who spent the 2025 season as Texas Tech‘s third-string quarterback, completed 10-of-16 passes for 137 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Keelon Russell On Running the Alabama Offense
Russell is at Alabama to be a playmaker, with his legs or his arm, whatever the situation asks of him.
“When stuff goes bad, like coach said today, you’re a playmaker, dude,” Russell said. “The whole offense is counting on you to make a play. So, when the pocket breaks down, of course I’m using my legs. I told you, God blessed me with some attribute that I can use my legs and why not use it?”
Russell took on tacklers at the end of most of his 13 carries instead of sliding. DeBoer said the sliding is something the staff will talk about a lot.
“It’s not even the coaches, it’s the players too,” Russell explained. “They want me to be protected. I’ve got to do a better job on that.”
Russell put every operational mistake from Saturday on himself, because he is the leader of the offense.
“Communication comes from me,” Russell said. “I start the play off, I make the plays, checks, regardless of everything. And there’s a lot of stuff that I missed out there. And I’m just planning on getting better at those type of things.”
“We’re gonna hit practice hard, our next practice, and we’re gonna fix everything that we was doing wrong,” Russell added. “And just hopefully to get better next week.”
Last season, Russell appeared in two games behind Ty Simpson and Mack. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for 17 yards. Simpson went No. 13 overall to the Los Angeles Rams in April.
Playing in the Bryant-Denny atmosphere makes Russell better, and so does playing with the teammates around him.
“It’s a blessing, especially for the Crimson Tide,” Russell said. “You see all the past quarterbacks that have been here. I’m not gonna name any, because it’s a lot. But it’s inspirational. We watch film on the guys and try to critique ourselves on getting better. And [offensive coordinator Ryan] Grubb said it, if you wanna go in the NFL, this is the program you wanna play for.”
Russell’s Duncanville Career
At Duncanville, Russell took over as the starter in the third quarter of the 2022 season opener after Jameir Willis tore his ACL, and the Panthers went 15-0 and won the program’s first state title in more than 20 years under Duncanville coach Reginald Samples. Duncanville repeated in 2023. In 2024, Russell threw for 4,177 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, and Duncanville went 13-1 and reached the state semifinals. He was named the 2024-25 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year, the first Alabama signee to win the award.
DeBoer said Alabama will keep feeding Coleman-Williams after the two drops, and that the receiver made contested catches after them.
“I’m very hopeful we can be a complete offense,” DeBoer explained. “It starts with your quarterback. We’ve always been quarterback-driven by what we can do. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
Alabama plays at Kentucky on Sept. 12. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
