One of the players who rose the most in the 2025 recruiting class was five-star quarterback Kieron Russell, who signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide during the early signing period in December.
Russell, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound quarterback, is considered the No. 2 overall freshman in the class of 2025, according to 247Sports, and originally committed to SMU before transferring. He remained in Alabama.
But while he committed to the Crimson Tide, there were still plenty of suitors for the five-star quarterback, some with deep pockets.
“As you all know, a lot of schools were throwing money at me,” Russell said Sunday. “I was never interested in money. I felt it was short-term value, not long-term value. If you get good grades and get a salary of, say, a million dollars and go to college, If you go and make a fuss about it, the boosters aren't going to want to pay that to watch you play. If you shoot, you might get benched and your career is over. So I have to think about it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“If a school gives me $250,000 right now to play for them and I dominate for the next three years, get the Heisman, now you [going to be worth] 5 million, you know what I'm saying? If it's worth $5 million, you can leave it to the professionals, so it's a long-term thing when it comes to NIL. I'm not really worried about that right now. I know that if I do what I'm supposed to do, the results will come no matter what. ”
As for the Alabama vs. SMU decision, while it was all about football for Russell, the flip didn't stop the Mustangs from making a last-minute push.
“From SMU to Alabama to NIL, it's still the same,” Russell said. “SMU had some concerns and they were trying to improve it, but I told them, 'Hey, this is a complete family affair.' So I want them to feel as if I'm doing this for us. ”So, to be honest, like I said, this is a long-term thing for me. ”
However, Russell revealed that besides SMU and Alabama, there were three other teams that pushed late on his service: Texas, Colorado, and LSU, with significant NIL numbers.
“They wanted me to pursue it that far, you know what I’m saying,” Russell said of the three schools. “My name started being thrown around on a lot of platforms and stuff. So a lot of coaches woke up and Alabama was there before this all happened. So I looked up to them in that respect. And shoot, Alabama came to my practice and it seemed like probably one of the worst practices as a quarterback. To be honest, I had the day off and they asked me to be the quarterback. He even gave me a chance and felt something for me.”
Still, there was discussion about the possibility of visiting these schools as the numbers fluctuated.
“That's right, that's right. [a real thought]” Russell admitted. “Honestly, who really doesn't want to go to Colorado? I mean, yeah, that's what I was thinking, but then the wrong word started getting spread. So I shut it down and said, “No, I can't do that.”
“So, LSU, I was thinking about it a little bit too. Colorado, I was thinking about it. Texas, I was thinking about going there. I actually went there before going to Alabama. So I was thinking about things a little bit, but I had to stay home and stay true to the world, to my fans and to my friends. [The three schools] I threw out some numbers. I mean, I can't really talk about that. I know, it's big. Just know that it's big. ”
As it turned out, the money was legitimate for Russell, but his main focus was football, which led him to the Crimson Tide.
“But like I said, I'm not really worried about money. I'm here to play ball. I'm here to play ball, and I was doing it for free back then. I'm doing it for [me] Now in my mind, but I'm just getting money on the back end, you know what I mean? So, yeah, but it was obviously an offer that was thrown at me, one of the top-ranked quarterbacks, so I would be able to get some money in that range. ”
Now locked down at Alabama, Russell is excited about potentially becoming the team's next quarterback if Jalen Milroe enters the NFL Draft, but he knows it will be a tough journey. , we also know that we need to compete to earn a spot at the next level. .
However, despite being committed to the Crimson Tide for some time, it was still a tough process for the five-star quarterback as the school pursued him relentlessly to the end.
