And just like that, Kalen Deboer has his QB for the 2025 recruiting class… And he’s a good one.

The Texas native has been committed to SMU for a while now, with offers from Texas A&M, Oregon, Ole Miss, TCU, Florida, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and many more all on the table. He’s been rumored to be Alabama/DeBoer’s top QB target for about a month now, so this wasn’t a totally out of the blue flip.

He’s won back to back 6A state titles for his high school while starting the past two years, compiling a 29-1 record and completing 70% of his passes with 60 passing TDs to 12 interceptions (9 of which came in 2022 in his first year starting). Plus, he’s got another 9 TDs with almost 600 yards as a rusher.

He’s a borderline 5-star prospect as the 38th overall player by the 247Sports Composite, while the On3 composite has him at 57th. He’s been rocketing up the boards this spring, as he was generally ranked around 240th last season before closing out the year strong and really gaining steam the last couple of months.

Russell has all the talent in the world, and don’t be surprised if he winds up a full-fledged 5-star prospect and the lynchpin of this recruiting class for the Tide before it’s all said and done.

While DeBoer and Sheridan evaluated the likes of Julian Lewis, Deuce Knight and others, they put their full efforts into flipping Russell by making him their No. 1 target in recent months.

“Alabama has only reached out to Keelon and assures he is their guy,” Russell’s father told Wiltfong after the visit. “The brotherhood is major at Alabama. The NFL players still come back and hold the boys to a high standard. I feel the brotherhood and NFL players will not let Alabama fall.

He’s also now cancelled his official visits to Florida and Oregon, so for now, this seems to be a done deal.

Scouting report from 247:

Elite playmaker for the quarterback position that can beat defenses with his arm and legs. Has been surrounded by an all-star cast the past two years, but has done more than just steer the boat as he often delivers in key moments. Accurate to the first two levels and gets the ball out fast. Slides around the pocket with his limber movement patterns and has both the speed and agility to turn scrambles into back-breaking gains. More of a one-read anticipatory thrower at this stage, but isn’t afraid to plant his flag and take a hit as he scans the field. Has also proven to be a rather efficient distributor on the move with the touch to drop passes into tight windows. Should be viewed as one of the more exciting signal callers in the 2025 cycle. Must keep improving as a decision-maker and working on the fundamentals, but has what it takes to provide some fireworks on Saturdays. Enters senior season with a 29-1 record and a 69.6 career completion percentage.