Happy Gump Day, everyone, and good luck holding back your inner Gump as you hear Ryan Grubb gush about his young field general.
When offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb thinks back to how Keelon Russell won the Alabama football starting quarterback job, he thought of moments like this one.
Alabama was in the red zone on third down during the team’s second fall scrimmage, and the offense faced a zeroed-out look, an all-out blitz. The clock was ticking and Russell had less than 10 seconds to work with. The quarterback fell back on his training. He made checks on protection and made the throw he needed to.
“Everything that you think like, ‘Oh, is a young quarterback going to be able to do that?’” Grubb said. “But we have a ton of confidence in him. He’s playing confident. He’s operating at an incredibly high level right now.”
He can certainly move around, faster than Mack, something that almost certainly helped him in the quarterback competition. But, while still a young player, Grubb thought Russell is exactly where he needs to be when it comes to processing the offense
“I would never want that stereotype for him, that he ends up just being a runaround guy back there, and he’s not,” Grubb said. “He’s an incredibly bright kid that understands pretty complex read progressions for a (sophomore), and so, as long as we can keep him in those progressions and we keep it friendly for him, he’s going to be great.”
“He’s really taken the bull by the horns as a starter and embodied that,” Grubb said. “Just taking command of the field.”
The former five-star recruit possesses undeniable talent. But Grubb has also been impressed by his pre-snap cognition.
“Way ahead of schedule,” Grubb said. “That’s what I’d say. Way ahead of schedule.”
Russell can use his legs to extend plays, but Grubb sees that as a feature of his game and not the main event.
Now, a cynic might say that this is simply a coach pumping some confidence into his recently anointed, fledgling QB1. But, anyone with eyes can see Keelon’s ability jump off the screen.
It sounds like they have identified a “best six” on the offensive line, if not a best five.
Right tackle, both head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said, will likely be Mississippi State transfer Jayvin James, who has “taken most of the reps there,” DeBoer said Monday, Aug. 24, compared to Texas transfer Nick Brooks.
Left guard is a bit more open, but Mal Waldrep has taken “most of the reps, but not all with the ones” compared to William Sanders, who DeBoer said can play both right and left guard.
“We’re pretty much there,” Grubb said Tuesday, Aug. 25.
It won’t be surprising if the left guard competition continues into the season, and rotating one spot isn’t the worst thing. We saw that quite a bit during the Saban era as well. It’s been discussed ad nauseum, but this group carries the biggest key to the season.
Grubb said that Russell is building a good rapport with his big uglies, especially the man in the middle.
“I think his relationship with all the O-line is, for a young quarterback, like just being himself, asking questions and really for him, I think it starts with him and Racin,” Grubb said after Alabama’s fall camp practice Tuesday, Aug. 25. “You know, like them having to gel together on protection calls and checks and trusting Racin to help get him into the right calls if he needs it.”
Grubb made it clear. Russell has the final say on protections. Quarterbacks always do. They know where the problems are. They see the big picture.
But Delgatty has the experience.
And, Rico Scott has stepped up at receiver.
“Rico, of late, his contested catches have really picked up,” Grubb said. “And really one of the things that stood out to me is Rico’s starting to practice like the physical player that he is more consistently.
“It’s not that he never did. He’s a super physical, high effort guy that’s in a lot of special teams as well, and it’s starting to show up all the time instead of like, ‘Man, there’s Rico,’ and then maybe a fall off here and there– just like any young player. But was really impressed. Like today stood out to me the way he practiced. Just his demeanor in between was really really well.”
And, Grubb is pleased with his tight end group as well.
“Man, there’s a bunch of them. I think it starts with Marshall Pritchett. He’s a guy that’s just, he stepped up as a blocker. He’s become a more complete player in that regard, where I think he was viewed as a guy kind of going into spring and summer, like, line of scrimmage, is this guy gonna be able to get it done? And so, he took that part really seriously, and I think he got a lot better at it. But the playmaker part in Marshall is, he’s a weapon out there. He can truly block, and then expand the outside, getting a mismatch on a safety, and really play ball. So, I think, for his standpoint, he’s doing a great job.
“Kaleb has, both of those guys, I think, have done a really good job of attacking their weaknesses. So, Kaleb has really become a formidable blocker, where I think as a young player last year, that was a little more difficult for him. So now, I think Kaleb is really becoming that true 50-50 Y. Danny Lewis is limited on the reps he gets, but he’s as good an in-line guy as you’re gonna see in the SEC, and the same with Josh Ford. Josh Ford is as dominant a player on the line of scrimmage as anybody you’re gonna see. So, those two guys are true blockers, and they all can catch. All those guys can catch the football. Jay Lindsey has a ton of just savvy and toughness, and he’s got an edge to him that our offense loves. So, they’re all showing up.”
Alabama seems to be in great shape where offensive weapons are concerned.
The Big Ten, SEC and Notre Dame have aligned to block players who have been in NFL or NBA training camp from returning to college.
On Tuesday, the Big Ten became the first conference to levy significant penalties when its athletic directors and faculty athletics representatives unanimously approved a ban on former NFL players pursuing a fifth year of eligibility within their league.
Sources tell CBS Sports the punishment is modeled on the NCAA’s ghost transfer rule. That rule bans coaches from 50% of games and carries a financial penalty on the school equal to 20% of its football budget.
The SEC announced its new policy later Tuesday after a meeting at the conference’s headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. LSU was considering adding two former NFL players to its roster, but sources told CBS Sports’ John Talty the vote, like the Big Ten’s, was unanimous. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will have wide-ranging powers to determine punishments for violating the new policy.
Nobody is convinced that LSU will back down. Stay tuned.
Last, what a way to end a Gump Day post.
Alabama has more 11 win seasons since 2018 than Auburn has ALL TIME. pic.twitter.com/d7ClmaDNsC
— SEC Numbers Guy (@secnumbersguy) August 24, 2026That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
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