Keelon Russell is boosting No. 7 Alabama’s prospects with poised and prolific play

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Alabama’s Keelon Russell stepped up to avoid pass rushers on third-and-19, kept his eyes downfield as he began to run and suddenly unloaded a 39-yard completion to Lotzeir Brooks.

“He’s always looking for the big play,” Alabama receiver Rico Scott said. “You just got to be ready.”

Russell might have looked like a 19-year-old, first-year starter when he committed three turnovers at Kentucky in Week 2, but not on Saturday at Mississippi State, where he was surgical on third down and avoided turnovers entirely in a 56-23 victory for the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide.

“He’s always had the ability to make plays and it was just a matter of him balancing that with taking care of the football and you just know that there’s a matter of growth process that he has to go through,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said.

“He can make people miss and he’s just doing a good job of how to move the chains when he needs to with his legs,” DeBoer added. ”He always has kept his eyes downfield.”

Russell completed six of his seven third-down passes for 146 yards, including connections of 50 yards to Brooks and 22 yards to Ryan Coleman-Williams. He also threw two of his three touchdown passes on third down.

“He surprises a lot of people. He seems to surprise us some times,” said Scott, who caught third-down, touchdown passes of 13 and 8 yards at Mississippi State.. “It’s just hard to believe how fast he’s grown.”

Russell’s already burgeoning Heisman Trophy credentials are bound to be further enhanced by his performance against the No. 16 Bulldogs.

He finished 16 of 22 (73%) for 285 yards and three TDs passing to go with a 17-yard scoring run.

He was asked about his potential to win college football’s most coveted individual award after he emerged from the visitor’s locker room at Davis Wade Stadium, where he’d also faced down the din cause by cowbell-ringing fans with the poise of a more experienced player.

But the dual-threat Russell sounded more interested in talking about his focus on learning how to play his position better.

“A lot of people will say, ‘He’s a great athlete,’ or, ‘He’s a great player,’” Russell said of the comments he hears about himself. “Becoming more of a quarterback is what I kind of want to be faithful to and just growing there.”

As far as Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby was concerned, Russell already is playing his position at an “elite level.”

“He’s really accurate, got great anticipation and you continue to see him make big plays with his feet,” Lebby said, calling Russell’s, 39-yard completion to Brooks a “backbreaking” play.

“We’ve got a little momentum back in the game. He moves around, throws a shot and they pick up a huge first down,” Lebby recalled. “That’s what he can continue to do for them — a guy that’s playing really, really well for a guy so young.”

Russell said he learned a lot from his mistakes against Kentucky, which Alabama still beat going away, 45-17 after trailing at halftime. DeBoer agreed.

“He’s trusting himself. He’s got a good vibe with the skill group, throwing on time,” DeBoer said. “He continues to take care of the football, making good decisions, run or pass, understanding how to convert and move the chains, knowing when the ball needs to get in the end zone.”

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