High school football: Alabama pledge Keelon Russell wins Elite 11 MVP award
By Thomas Frey
Jun 20, 2024, 2:00pm
Duncanville star outshines cast of talented signal callers in California after winning back-to-back Texas state championships.
Considered a star-making event for high school quarterbacks going back
to 1999, the Elite 11 Finals wrapped up Thursday in Los Angeles.
Keelon Russell of
Duncanville (Texas) outshined a talented cast of signal callers to earn MVP honors.
Rated as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation by
247Sports, Russell was one of 20 top rising senior quarterbacks at the event including five-star prospects
Julian Lewis (Committed to USC),
Husan Longstreet (Texas A&M),
George MacIntyre (Tennessee) and
Tavien St. Clair (Ohio State).
Keelon Russell of Duncanville (Texas) won the MVP award at Elite 11 over some of the top quarterbacks in the Class of 2025. The Alabama commit is rated as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation. (Photo: Lu Alvarado)
quarterback
Bryce Underwood, the top player in the nation, did not compete in the Elite 11 Finals.
As a sophomore at Duncanville, Russell threw for 2,377 yards and 22 touchdowns against nine
interceptions en route to leading the program to the Class 6A Division 1 state championship.
Russell helped the Panthers repeat in 2023 with 3,483 yards and 38 TDs through the air while throwing just three interceptions.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound quarterback committed to Alabama
earlier this month over 22 other offers including Oklahoma State,
Oregon, TCU and Texas A&M.
Russell will join Blake Barnett, Brodie Croyle and Tua Tagovailoa as Elite 11 MVPs to play at Alabama.
