Alabama football has a busy final weekend of recruiting visits in Tuscaloosa, but coach Kalen DeBoer and some other staffers still took time to go show support for freshman quarterback Keelon Russell in Mississippi.
A memorial service was held in Tupelo on Saturday for Russell’s twin sister, Kierston Russell, who died earlier in June in Tuscaloosa.
Keelon Russell, a freshman quarterback for the Crimson Tide, posted a photo with several of his teammates, a few coaches and football staffers from outside the memorial service in Tupelo. Among those in attendance for the memorial service: DeBoer, quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan, fellow quarterbacks Ty Simpson and Austin Mack and several others.
Alabama has also made sure to support Keelon Russell in Tuscaloosa since his twin sister’s passing. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb joined Tide 100.9and shared how.
“A couple days had passed after Kierston had passed,” Grubb said. “(Keelon) came back out to a walk through and we’re on the field. We got done. I didn’t say much but I said, ‘hey (Keelon) come in here. We want you to break it down.’ Seeing the guys interact with him and just letting him know that they love him and support him as just a guy. We certainly talk about person greater than player. That’s being challenged right now to make sure those things are real within the program and the culture of the locker room. Everything I’ve seen and the support he has already … You can’t give enough support for a situation like that. Keelon is a very, very strong young man. His ability to handle this has been humbling to see honestly. The guys have been there at every turn.”
Kierston’s Russell death in Tuscaloosa appeared to be non-criminal, said captain Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit in statement. The Tuscaloosa VCU handled the death investigation alongside the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences because Tuscaloosa County does not have an elected coroner, Kennedy wrote.
