Bama Central

Alabama QB Signee Wins Maxwell National High School Player of the Year: Roll Call, December 21, 2024

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Alabama athletics, including how to watch the Crimson Tide.

Katie Windham

Keelon Russell
Keelon Russell / @Pres1dential/Keelon Russell on X

Alabama quarterback signee Keelon Russell received a big honor on Friday, and he got the good news from his new head coach Kalen DeBoer.

Russell was named the Maxwell National High School Player of the year. He joins some prestigious company. The two other former Alabama players to win the award, Derrick Henry and Bryce Young, went on to win the Heisman Trophy with the Crimson Tide.

The incoming Alabama quarterback was also recently named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Today’s Crimson Tide Schedule

Women's basketball vs. Richmond, West Palm Beach, Florida, 12:15 p.m., BallerTV

Crimson Tide Results

Women's basketball: Alabama 82, No. 15 Michigan State 67

  • All five starters scored in double figures to lift Alabama past Michigan State, 82-67, Friday afternoon in the opening game of the West Palm Beach Classic. The Crimson Tide (11-1) captured its first win over a top 25 opponent this season with the double-digit victory over the previously undefeated Spartans (10-1).

Did You Notice?

  • Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban continued his work on ESPN's College GameDay for the opening round of the College Football Playoff at Notre Dame on Friday night. Comedian Shane Gillis made a joke about Alabama paying its players, and Saban fired back against the accusations. "I do believe in integrity. I just tried to run the program that way so players had a better chance to be successful in life. We made more money in the NFL than any other school. Sixty-one players in the league. That was how we cheated. We developed players."
  • Speaking of the CFP, in the first ever CFP first-round game in the 12-team format, 7-seed Notre Dame blasted 10-seed Indiana, 27-17. Indiana finished at No. 8, three spots ahead of Alabama, in the final CFP rankings.
  • After making a public plea to Alabama fans to support Alabama's NIL collective, AD Greg Byrne says "Yea Alabama" received nearly 800 new or renewed members.

On This Date in Crimson Tide History:

December 21, 1934: Alabama tackle Bill Young suffered an appendicitis attack in Del Rio, Tex., as the Crimson Tide traveled to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl to face Stanford. Another Crimson Tide player, Jim Whatley, was also under doctor's care but was expected to be ready for the January 1 showdown.

December 21, 1948: Former Crimson Tide baseball standout Glenn Woodruff was born in Aliceville, Ala.

December 21, 1989: Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram II, was born in Hackensack, N.J.

December 21, 1992: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was born in Orlando.

December 21, 1997: Quinnen Williams was born in Birmingham, Ala.

Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

“I think that anybody who comes out of Coach Saban’s program is a little ahead of the curve because of how he develops his players physically, mentally and as men.” – Mark Ingram II, Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy winner.

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Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports. 

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