WATCH: Jaguars QB Mac Jones enthusiastically supports “future Alabama star” Keelon Russell at 5-star camp
Before having what could be described as a 'rocky' NFL career, current backup for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mac Jones was with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Under head coach Nick Saban, Jones did have a good amount of success.
On Wednesday, Jones made an appearance at the Rivals Camp, where he caught up with five-star prospect Keelon Russell. In a video posted on the Rivals' X account, Jones called Russell:
"A future Alabama star"
According to 247sports, Keelon Russell is ranked as the seventh-best quarterback, and is a four-star prospect.
From the state of Texas, Russell has led his high school, Duncanville, to two consecutive national championships. In 2022, he led the team to an undefeated season, throwing for 2,377 yards and scoring 22 touchdowns.
2023 was a massive improvement for Russell. Duncanville could not repeat their undefeated season, but Russell was able to throw for 3,483 yards and score 38 touchdowns.
These performances made Keelon Russell a highly wanted player for colleges. He initially chose the SMU Mustangs but then decided to switch to the Alabama Crimson Tide for 2025. With this switch, he became new head coach Kalen DeBoer's first recruited quarterback.
On his decision to switch to Alabama, Russell told ESPN:
"They laid out the spot for me on the depth chart -- it's something a quarterback dreams of,... I felt like if I took the role that I could do some amazing things at high levels... I think I knew that [Alabama] could do some crazy stuff for me," he said. "I'm going to get there and ball out for sure."
Keelon Russell wins the MVP at the Elite 11
Apart from participating in the Rivals camp, and meeting Mac Jones in the process, Keelon Russell recently attended the Elite 11 camp.
This camp is for high school quarterbacks who are about to enter college. Russell attended this camp alongside the likes of USC's Julian Lewis, quarterbacks who are widely predicted to be strong players in college.
Despite being face-to-face with this amount of talent, Russell was awarded the Elite 11 MVP title. This prestigious award has been previously given out to players such as Matthew Stafford, Caleb Williams and CJ Stroud. All three of these players have had and are having success at both the college level and in the NFL.
With his win, Keelon Russell became the first Alabama quarterback since Tua Tagovailoa to win the Elite 11 MVP. If previous winners tell us anything, he is set up for a successful career.