Coach Prime's son Shedeur Sanders gives a shout-out to 5-star Alabama QB commit, calls him a "special player"

Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders acknowledged five-star Alabama quarterback commit Keelon Russell as a “special player.” Sanders made this comment about Russell on episode 17 of his show "2Legendary powered by Overtime" where he hosted Colorado teammate Drelon Miller.

He said (15:41-15:47):

“What he's doing at Duncanville right now is crazy. It's unheard, unbelievable. And it's something I haven't seen. So I feel like he's a special player.”

Keelon Russell is the No. 3 quarterback and No. 3 overall prospect nationally in the 2025 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The 6-ft-3, 180-pounder is a senior at Duncanville High School in Texas, where he's teammates with the nation's top wide receiver prospect, Dakorien Moore.

Russell initially committed to the SMU Mustangs in Sept. 2023 when he hadn't caught the attention of many of the top programs. This is despite an impressive junior season which saw him lead Duncanville to a state title. After solid appearances at spring camps, he was noticed by more top programs with Alabama presenting an offer in April.

He flipped from SMU to Alabama in June following a visit to Tuscaloosa in May. Since then, his profile has seen a consistent rise to becoming one of the nation's top quarterback prospects and a consensus five-star.

How good is Keelon Russell?

Shedeur Sanders is not the first person of note to acknowledge how good Keelon Russell is. Quarterback coach Brad Stanfield praised Russell's abilities in an interview with Athlon Sports.

He said:

“When you look at him, meet him and then you see his skill set, you’re just thinking if this kid is everything that I’m seeing in front of my face, this kid’s got a chance to be really freaking good. When it comes to skillset, I put this kid through a bunch of NFL stuff, and he picked it up pretty much that day. It was pretty impressive, and so to watch him be able to do and then not overthink but do what you ask him right away is super impressive. There is nothing I don’t think the kid can’t do.”

What Russell brings to the Crimson Tide is obvious from the numbers he has racked up in high school. He completed 180 of 243 pass attempts as a junior for 3,267 yards and 35 touchdowns. In 11 games as a senior, he has 184 completed passes for 3,212 yards and 46 touchdowns.