Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer attends five-star recruit Keelon Russell’s high school game last Friday: Reports

Kalen DeBoer earned his first quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class when five-star prospect Keelon Russell flipped his commitment from SMU to the Crimson Tide back in June. At the moment, everything is going smoothly between the coach and his five-star signal-caller.

Alabama is preparing for its highly-touted matchup against Georgia this weekend. Meanwhile, DeBoer attended the Duncanville High School's game last Friday to watch Russell.

This move was first reported by Andrew Bone of BamaOnline. It marks the first known instance of an Alabama head coach attending a high school game since 2011.

The quarterback responded with an incredible performance by completing 18 of 23 passes for 351 yards and six touchdowns, leading Duncanville to a 42-17 win over Waxahachie. He completed 78.3% of his passes while also adding 39 rushing yards. This phenomenal showing is part of a larger trend, as the prospect has now thrown for three or more touchdowns in each of his last four games.

Keelon Russell’s incredible resume includes leading Duncanville to back-to-back 6A D-1 state championships. Last season, he recorded 3,483 yards and 38 touchdowns for only three interceptions.

Keelon Russell shares receiving promising words from Kalen DeBoer

Keelon Russell is set to take the spot once current quarterback Jalen Milroe’s era concludes. Kalen DeBoer has already made the signal-caller feel like a key player in the team's plans.

During an interview on Five Star Flex, a podcast hosted by Phillip Dukes of On3, Russell shared the conversation he had with DeBoer, saying,

"I was on the phone with Kalen DeBoer and he was like, 'yeah you're going to be the leader of our team, you're going to be the star, you're going to be our legs our eyes our heart of our team,'" Russell said.

Russell is ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2025 class and the No. 8 recruit in Texas, per ESPN. Rivals also tabs him as the top signal-caller nationally, placing him as the No. 9 overall prospect in the class and the No. 3 recruit in the state.

DeBoer and his staff have been intentional in making Russell feel valued.

"'We know you're going to be a perfect fit here, we see it in your tape, we see it in your eyes, like we know it,"' DeBoer conveyed to Russell, according to the QB.

This Friday, Russell and his Duncanville squad will travel to take on Skyline. Football fans can gear up to see another performance from the five-star Alabama commit.