Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer squinted into the sun's glare scraping the top of Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, earlier this month. A hard-fought come-from-behind win was nearing its end -- signaled by the change from starting quarterback Keelon Russell to Austin Mack, whose job was to hand the ball off however many times it took for the clock to strike zero so they could all head home.
Russell, his helmet left on the bench, stood outside of the offensive huddle as assistant coaches prepared the backups to take the field. Then he turned and walked over to DeBoer, who was standing by himself on the sideline, talking into his headset. DeBoer peeled one ear back in order to hear what Russell had to say. Later, Russell would tell reporters part of his message: "I'm willing to work my mmm off this week going into FSU."
While the final score -- Alabama 45, Kentucky 17 -- presented as a resounding success, the first half was disastrous. Russell, a sophomore in only his second career start and his first on the road, threw a pick-six on the ninth play of the game. Six plays later, he fumbled. Then, with less than a minute left before halftime, he threw an interception that turned into a field goal.
There was a moment when a change from Russell to Mack seemed possible. But inside the locker room, Russell wasn't acting as if his job was on the line. He was leading. DeBoer said he saw Russell go over to the defense and "just owning some of the things that he fell short on."
Russell didn't exactly light up the stat sheet during the second-half comeback as Alabama scored four touchdowns and a field goal on its first six possessions, but he settled in nicely. No turnovers were key. But so was a 23-yard strike to Ryan Coleman-Williams, a 16-yard scramble on third down and a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rico Scott to build a two-score lead. It was Russell's first touchdown pass as a starter.
That fact got lost in the muck of what Russell described as too many "sloppy mistakes." But it felt like the start of something bigger: progress.
Last Saturday, back home in Tuscaloosa hosting Florida State, was another step in that process. Russell started slow once again, orchestrating an offense that went three-and-out on consecutive drives, but this time he didn't turn the football over. He wasn't simply along for the ride as Alabama stormed back; he was out front. He threw for three touchdowns and sprinted past the defense for a 56-yard touchdown run as the Tide scored on nine straight possessions to close a 50-36 win.
It was everything the coaching staff and fans had been clamoring for from the former five-star prospect from Duncanville, Texas. The arm strength, the lightning quick release, the speed in the open field. When the play broke down, Russell didn't panic. He bought time with his feet and kept his eyes downfield.
"I think every game there's something that he's doing a better job with," DeBoer said. "Week 1 to Week 2 was just the operation, even before we snap the football, as we're lining up in the huddle. I think last week as the game went on he got more comfortable and I thought he came out and in the passing game was accurate, seeing the field and making a couple subtle checks. Confident he's going to get more snaps; just let the game ... come to him."
As Alabama closes the door on the first quarter of the regular season with a 3-0 record and a No. 8 ranking in the Associated Press poll, it needs progress to continue from its young quarterback. On Saturday, South Carolina comes to town (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) with star pass rusher Dylan Stewart healthy again and looking to finally beat the Tide after coming close in each of the past two seasons. Then comes a stretch of five consecutive contests against ranked opponents: at No. 24 Mississippi State, vs. No. 2 Georgia, at No. 14 Tennessee, vs. No. 23 Texas A&M and at No. 10 LSU.
Alabama center Racin Delgatty said that Russell is "becoming more like a vet."
Russell said the game is "definitely" slowing down.
"My biggest thing was operating in and out of the huddle. Phenomenal job today," he said Saturday. "Still can do better with the things we can do better. We broke the offensive huddle with like 19 seconds on the clock more efficient than any time. Was able to see the protections more clear. Got to a couple of the stuff we talked about this week. The game is way slower when you're able to move faster as an offense."
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb agreed.
"He's moving quicker," he said.
That's needed with a completely rebuilt offensive line still coming into its own. Only one starter (Michael Carroll) from last season is back. Carroll, who started six games at right guard as a freshman, is playing the position again this season alongside two newcomers: Delgatty, who transferred from Cal Poly, and Jayvin James, who came over from Mississippi State to play right tackle.
The running game, which was consistently impotent last season, ranking 126th in the FBS in yards per carry, has shown signs of life in the second half the past two weeks (see: minus-1 yard before contact in the first half vs. FSU, 148 yards before contact in the second half). But development there is crucial.
Which is all to say that Alabama needs Russell to be elusive as a passer and effective as a runner.
It needs him, in some ways, to be the best of both worlds when you consider the strengths and weaknesses of DeBoer's first two starting quarterbacks at Alabama: Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.
Milroe was arguably the most dangerous running quarterback in college football two years ago. He threw a good deep ball, too. But he wasn't especially accurate in the short-to-intermediate passing game.
Simpson was the opposite. He was primarily a pocket passer who was very adept on short-to-intermediate throws but struggled to push the ball downfield.
Russell completed 7 of 14 passes with an interception on deep throws during his first two games of the season, according to ESPN Research. Against Florida State, he was 6 of 8 for 128 yards and two touchdowns on throws that traveled 15 or more yards through the air.
He's especially dangerous on the move.
"We got a great quarterback," wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks said. "He's a great playmaker, a great athlete. So we just know once he leaves the pocket, we just got to keep it moving."
On throws outside the pocket, Russell has completed 15 of 20 passes for 242 yards this season.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer sees the Milroe/Simpson comparisons.
"You kind of take both of them," he said. "I remember last year watching Ty and just saying, 'Holy smokes, the throws he makes.' All over the field. Velocity. Deep balls. Touch. When you see Russell, you see the same thing. He made a throw the other day against Florida State over on Florida State's sideline that's an unbelievable throw to make that as a [redshirt] freshman on a rope right down the sideline.
"So he makes the throws that Ty can make. And then you see his athleticism and his ability to run, and it reminds you of Milroe. He's got a play where they miss a sack and he gets out of the pocket the other day and it turns into a whatever long touchdown run."
DeBoer might have said it best about Russell after the comeback in Lexington: "He stays cool, calm."
"He believes in himself, and that's evident," DeBoer said. "Sometimes he's trying to make a play. We just got to help him understand the situation and how to keep us on the field. I don't want to take his aggressiveness away from him because there's some plays that he made out there too. So it's a fine line.
"He's going to go help us win games."