5-star Alabama football commit absorbs brutal face mask (borderline beheading)

How did Duncanville High School quarterback Keelon Russell keep playing after this?

Duncanville QB Keelon Russell popped right back up Friday against South Oak Cliff after a brutal face mask penalty. / Photo: Robbie Rakestraw

Alabama Crimson Tide football fans had to gasp in the fourth quarter of Duncanville's 34-12 win Friday night at South Oak Cliff High School in Texas.

Five-star Duncanville senior quarterback Keelon Russell, who committed to Alabama in June, took the worst hit in a game full of them vs. South Oak Cliff.

It really wasn't much of a hit, more like a beheading (or at least a behelmeting).

South Oak Cliff junior Kordae Houston rushed the passer and reached for Russell but got his face mask, and Houston got his money's worth on the 15-yard penalty.

He pulled Russell's helmet off and held it a la The Predator carrying one of his trophies:

Keelon Russell takes a pretty brutal facemask here pic.twitter.com/gMcDynwEfz

— Mike Roach (@MikeRoach247) September 7, 2024

Russell shook his head, checked for blood and then kept playing.

Scary moment for Duncanville and Alabama fans, but the Panthers and Crimson Tide have some first-hand evidence that their QB is as tough as they come.

Russell finished his night with 325 passing yards and five touchdowns against no interceptions, completing 25 of 39 passes in his 2024 debut.

One of those TDs went to five-star senior Oregon commit Dakorien Moore, who grabbed a catch while wearing his Ducks gloves and juked two defenders out of their shoes.

Moore finished with nine catches for 119 yards and the TD, while three-star junior WR/TE Zach Turner caught two touchdown passes.

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Russell threw for 3,483 yards and 38 TDs in 2023 as Duncanville successfully defended its Class 6A Division I title.

He decommitted from SMU in favor of Alabama as his recruiting stars kept rising.

Here's what Rivals had to say about Russell's rise:

“Russell has had arguably the biggest offseason of any prospect in the country, but certainly among his peers at the quarterback position. Russell started the offseason just inside the Rivals250 and saw himself rise into the top 50 before this summer.

"Now, after winning the Elite 11 Finals, the Quarterback Challenge at the Rivals Five-Star and adding plenty of other accolades and brilliant performances, Russell finds himself with his fifth star. He fits the mold of top shelf signal caller with a great frame at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, elite accuracy and a lethal rushing threat, which he will likely get to display in his senior season more than he has before."

You can add an incredibly strong neck to those measurables.

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive | @sblivesports

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