Take Keelon Russell off Alabama's roster and the first thing you'd miss is No.2 5★, national recruit.
6′3″ · 207 lb · Duncanville, TX · Duncanville
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far
Swing playSwung Alabama from 39% to 65% to win.Florida State at Alabama · 50-36
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Sophomore quarterback for Alabama. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
How he plays
Beats you with his legs when the pocket breaks down.
Explosive rate: 78th percentile.
The full scouting readBuzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
I like Jimmy Stein's opinion on Keelon Russell being a mix of Bryce and Tua. That he has their tendencies and he also believes (As I do also) that Keelon has a ceiling that is out of sight. Look if Austin Mack starts, I am behind the kid…
Also worth knowing:
“Keelon Russell # 12 will be the starting QB.”
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
For as good as a scrambler as Russell is, his poise in and around the pocket in passing situations is just as if not more impressive.
Based on 1 comment across 1 thread · Sep 7, 2026 · via rolltide
Keelon Russell
Keelon Russell is a cornerstone for Alabama — measured against the line he joined.
5★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.2
recruiting national rank
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Career arc
Badges
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-10vs East Carolina | 18/30 | 256 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | — | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-17@ Kentucky | 16/23 | 188 | 1 | 2 | 8.2 | 38.9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 50-36vs Florida State | 23/30 | 320 | 3 | 0 | 10.7 | 96.2 | Season-high 320 yds |
| Total | 57/83 | 764 | 4 | 2 | 9.1 | 67.5 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 45–17
at Kentucky
188 yds · 1 TD · 2 INT · QBR 38.9 · -9 rush yds (8 car)
Dominant 28-point win on the road against Kentucky.
With D. Hill — 104 rush yds (18 car) · 1 TD · A. Asparuhov — 54 yards per punt · 1 punts · 54 long
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +320 passing yards, +3 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Kalen DeBoer — 14-4 over that span.
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: rush yards (84th percentile). Strength: yards / att (84th percentile). Concern: sack rate (20th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
7.9855 of 126 QBsSack rate
6.7%97 of 126 QBsSacked on 6.7% of dropbacks (97 of 126) — and still 55 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 68.7% completion on 83 attempts · 47% of attempts thrown 0–9 air yds.
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 82 dropbacks69Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
54.9%97th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected pointsYards per attempt weight 56%
9.3499th pct of FBS QBssacks excludedSack rate weight 21% (penalty)
7.3%22th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot seeOpponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (5 of 87 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 288 | 1.5 | 9.6 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 188 | 1.0 | 8.2 | 2.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 255 | 1.3 | 9.1 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kalen DeBoer
Pass share
41.3%
85 pass / 121 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Play style
Beats you with his legs when the pocket breaks down.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Dangerous with both arm and legs — defenses can't just pin the ears back.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jayden Daniels’s 2021 season.
Matches Jayden on
Differs from Jayden on
Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to Drew Mestemaker’s path through Oklahoma State.
Matches Drew on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Conner Weigman's sophomore season at Texas A&M (2023).
Differs from Conner on
Heisman futures · sportsbook market
#10 in market ▲ from #30 · 6 books
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #23 this season.
NIL Opportunities 2025 Played in two games as a backup and completed 11-of-15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns ... added three rushes for 17 total yards ... named an offensive (skill) player of the week by the Alabama coaches for his efforts against Eastern Illinois. ULM: Took advantage…