Alabama is heading into a very different kind of test in Week 2, and for Keelon Russell, it comes with all the noise that usually follows a road trip to Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide’s sophomore quarterback opened the season looking every bit the part in a 48-10 win over ECU, piling up 342 total yards and adding a rushing touchdown in his debut as the starter. Now the challenge changes. Saturday’s matchup with the Wildcats will be Russell’s first road start, and Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said the preparation has been built around making the quarterback comfortable in discomfort.
Grubb said the focus has been on sharpening mechanics while turning practice into something closer to game-day chaos. “I think you got to push them on the mechanics at practice.”
Grubb said. “Make it loud at practice, make it disturbing, a lot of chaos.
When you get to the game it should almost feel easier than what you did at practice. And we want to raise a level of creating some urgency, some forced communication through practice and things like that.
We know the fanbase up there is super excited, and I think anytime Bama comes to town people are pretty wired up. So we got to get the guys ready for those environments.”
That’s the assignment for Russell this week: stay calm, stay sharp, and handle a hostile setting without letting the moment get bigger than the play. Alabama will also want to keep the contact on him to a minimum while the offense tries to keep its momentum rolling in Lexington.
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