Benton (Arkansas) 4-star running back Braylen Russell to announce college decision in July

The junior narrowed his list to five

Benton (Arkansas) High School running back Braylen Russell has narrowed his college choices to four. (Photo by Tommy Land)

By Nate Olson 

BENTON, Ark. – July 14 will be a big day for Benton junior running back Braylen Russell. 

Not only will he turn 18 on that Friday, but he will also celebrate the biggest decision of his life. At a 6:30 p.m. ceremony at the school’s fieldhouse, he will make his college decision announcement. He recently whittled his list to five: Arkansas, Baylor, Tennessee, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

“I am getting to the point where I want to narrow it down and shut it down to where I really want to go,” said Russell, who committed to Arkansas as a sophomore but re-opened his recruitment last fall.

Russell, a 6-foot-1, 230-pounder, plans to finish his official visits in June. He ran 240 times for 1,685 yards and 26 TDs and caught 22 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers last fall. Russell is ranked as a four-star recruit by On3 and the No. 21 running back and No. 287 overall recruit in the country. 

He was at Arkansas last weekend for the Razorbacks spring game.

“[Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman] told me I would be a big priority in their offense, and they really want me to come,” Russell said.

Russell said he decomitted nearly a year after his Arkansas pledge to “explore all of his options.”

The Razorbacks coaching staff handled the news well and continued their courtship, Russell said.

“[The Arkansas coaching staff] still believed I’m going to be a Hog,” Russell said. “They have still been recruiting me the same way they were.”

Some Hogs fans didn’t react as well to the decision, but the negativity never got to Russell. 

“It wasn’t tough at all because I didn’t get on my phone – I put my phone down,” Russell said. “I did what I wanted to do and prayed about it and put my phone down and didn’t listen to the outside noise.”

Russell was impressed with Arkansas’ running backs and quarterbacks as well as the defense at the spring game and likes what he sees with the change at offensive coordinator from Kendal Briles, who took the same job at TCU, to new coordinator Dan Enos, who also served as the OC under former head coach Bret Bielema.

“[Enos] moves the running backs out in the slot more – lets them play receiver a little bit more,” Russell said.

While on campus Saturday, Russell also visited with former legendary Hogs running back Darren McFadden, who rewrote UA rushing records on his way to an NFL career.

“He said Arkansas would take care of me if I go there,” he said.

Russell has also taken a visit to Tennessee and has the feeling the Volunteers are a national championship contender after going 11-2 last fall in head coach Josh Heupel’s second season.

In addition to the winning attitude Heupel, a national champion-winning quarterback at Oklahoma, has brought to Knoxville, he also likes the offense the former Sooners QB leads. 

“[Heupel] spreads the receivers wide and gives the running backs more room to work, which basically has the running back matched up with a linebacker,” he said.

Visits to the three remaining schools on the list will begin June 2 with a trip to South Carolina. Russell said he will be paying close attention to the “the culture and coaching staff” as he makes his decision following the visits.

Russell is looking forward to his senior season in his second year at Benton after playing his sophomore season at Hot Springs Lakeside. With the college decision out of the way, he is hoping to be healthy and lead the Panthers to a 6A state championship. Benton lost to Greenwood, 31-24, in the semifinals last season.

“We need to get the job done this year,” Russell said. “We came up short in the Greenwood game last year. Hopefully, we get to play them again.”

Last summer, Russell made a cut at a team camp and from that point on was dealing with turf toe and a broken bone in his foot. He said he was never 100 percent. Russell said his foot is “100 percent healthy” and he has worked on his speed and agility all winter. He also has increased his bench press to 330 pounds. 

“The season would have been better if I hadn’t had the toe injury,” he said. “I couldn’t feel the toe half the time after playing or practicing. I am looking forward to being healthy and it not hurting this year.”