Keelon Russell delivered a career night Saturday, but the Alabama quarterback still believes he and his team can improve after the Crimson Tide dominated South Carolina.
Russell accounted for five touchdowns and 400 yards of total offense in No. 8 Alabama’s 49-18 victory, completing 21 of 27 passes for a career-high 365 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while adding 35 rushing yards and another score.
Asked afterward whether he felt more prepared to play on the road, Russell delivered a surprising answer, pointing toward the work he still needs to do instead of sounding complacent about his achievements to date.
“Obviously I gotta get better,” Russell said. “It’s still a lot of knickknacks that I can fix. Just gotta keep building, keep growing, and eventually it’s gonna come. It’s gonna get better and better each and every week.”
Russell added that, in his eyes, his improvement can lift the players around him as Alabama gets deeper into the SEC portion of the 2026 schedule.
“If I can get better, I’m getting the offense better as well,” Russell said. “So the more I get better, the more I can build. I can bring my guys with me.”
Russell connected with Lotzeir Brooks for a 75-yard touchdown to open Alabama’s scoring before throwing two touchdowns to Ryan Coleman-Williams and another to Josh Ford. The quarterback capped the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run.
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The five-touchdown night helped Alabama improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play, prompting Russell to credit the entire Crimson Tide team rather than focusing on his production.
“We can build together, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Russell said. “We’re going to build as an offense. We’re one, even as a defense. Iron sharpens iron, so I’m going to sharpen them, they’re going to sharpen me, and we’re going to keep building.”
Alabama travels to No. 24 Mississippi State next Saturday at Noon ET.
