Alabama’s Keelon Russell made the biggest leap of any quarterback in CBS Sports’ weekly rankings heading into Week 4, and the rise says plenty about how quickly his stock is climbing.
David Cobb’s updated Top 50 had Russell at No. 18 after he opened the year at No. 35 following Week 2. That’s a jump of 17 spots in a single week, a sign that the Alabama quarterback is being noticed fast even while he’s still early in his college career.
He has only three career starts, so the learning curve is still very much part of the story. Still, the trajectory is obvious: if Russell keeps developing and keeps stacking game reps, the source of the buzz is easy to see.
The bigger question now is whether he keeps that momentum going against South Carolina. Saturday night gives him another chance to show whether the rapid climb is real or just a flash in the rankings.
Cobb’s No. 1 quarterback remains Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, who moved up from No. 2.
Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor also surged after a huge outing in the Bulldogs’ road win over South Carolina, where he threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor climbed four spots to No. 4, setting the standard Russell will be measured against this weekend.
Among SEC quarterbacks, Russell is still chasing a crowded group of established names. Eleven SEC quarterbacks are included in Cobb’s Top 50, with Georgia’s Gunner Stockton at No.
7, Arch Manning at No. 8, Florida’s Aaron Philo at No.
14, Tennessee’s Faison Brandon at No. 32, and Vanderbilt’s Jared Curtis at No. 50.
There were a few notable movers elsewhere in the league. Kentucky’s Kenny Minchey was the only other SEC quarterback to rise this week, going from outside the Top 50 to No.
- Missouri’s Austin Simmons took the biggest tumble among SEC passers, sliding from No. 10 to No.
- LSU’s Sam Leavitt dropped from No. 43 to No. 49, while Arch Manning fell five spots.
The SEC quarterbacks missing from Cobb’s Top 50 are Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson, and Auburn’s Byrum Brown. Russell sits ahead of all SEC quarterbacks ranked below him or left out entirely, and all of them have lower Passer Ratings than the Alabama sophomore.
For now, Russell’s ranking is still about promise as much as production. But the climb is real, and the next step comes against South Carolina.
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