"We got way more swag than all the other states": Alabama QB commit Keelon Russell shares bold take on the best state for high school football

By Viraj Mali

Modified Nov 18, 2024 21:27 GMT

Duncanville High School quarterback Keelon Russell is the second-highest-ranked recruit in the state of Texas, as per On3. The once SMU commit flipped his pledge to the Alabama Crimson Tide earlier this year.

Texas is one of the best high school football states in the country. The state has produced some of the best NFL-level athletes over the years, including the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Drew Bress and Kyler Murray, and Russell will hope to become a part of that elite list of athletes.

The quarterback appeared on the League Ready podcast on Monday and spoke about the best high school football state in the country.

"Texas, of course. Everything is big in Texas," Russell said, as per League Ready on YouTube. "We got talent that come in straight from the state, we got talent that come from everywhere from the state ... It's just better in Texas. The talent, the competition ... We got way more swag than all the other states." [00:20]

Duncanville, DeSoto and North Shore are the three nationally ranked Texas high schools in the top 25 this year. Russell's Duncanville is the third-best team in the country, whereas North Shore and DeSoto are sixth and 25th respectively.

Keelon Russell led his team to a blowout win over Temple in the second round of the playoffs

Five-star quarterback Keelon Russell led the Duncanville Panthers to a 49-7 win over the Temple Wildcats on Nov. 15 in the second round of the Texas high school football playoffs. The quarterback is having a great postseason, tallying 453 passing yards and nine touchdowns in two games.

He completed eight of his 10 pass attempts for 252 yards and five touchdowns against the Wildcats on Friday, finishing with a quarterback rating of 160.4. The Texas native is ranked No. 6 nationally and is the third-best quarterback in the Class of 2025, as per On3. He is also the second-best player in the state of Texas.

Keelon Russell has accumulated 3,079 passing yards and 45 touchdowns this season, completing 70.8% of his passes, with a quarterback rating of 151.3 after 10 games.