Alabama's quarterback Keelon Russell had to grind to earn the starting job and will face Texas A&M this weekend in a must-win game where he'll have to grind more. 

The Aggies' head coach, Mike Elko, is fairly familiar with the Crimson Tide quarterback, recalling his time trying to recruit him as a Texas native. 

“Special player, obviously familiar with him all the way back to recruiting," Elko said. “Really talented kid at Duncanville, is having a really, really good year.”

That might carry on after this weekend as he has brought a lot to this Crimson Tide team, Elko acknowledged in Monday’s press conference. 

“Can attack you in a lot of different ways,” Elko noted. “Can make all the throws. Delivers the ball very confidently in a really tight spiral. Has ability with his legs to make plays when the play breaks down. I think, obviously, he’s been a really huge weapon for them this year. Someone we obviously are gonna have to try to do our best to slow down as best we can.”

Daunting Task Ahead 

There is no hiding that this A&M defense, under defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, has run into some trouble over the past couple of weeks, and Elko kept it real when talking about that side of the ball. 

“We had two bad games in back-to-back weeks,” Elko said. “Outside of that, when we function and play the way we're capable of, we're a good unit. We've gotten more consistent over the last couple of weeks.”

Can it all come together for the first road SEC win of the 2026-27 season? To do so, A&M must shut down Russell in the different ways he exploits the game and commands the offense to his liking. 

Part of his game is his ability to take off with those fantastic legs that can turn on the jets. Another level of his game is his quick release, which gets his young wide receiver core going. 

The 6-foot-3 Heisman-caliber candidate has already passed for 1,746 yards and has an 86.8 QBR. He completes 67.5 percent of his passes and averages 9.1 yards per attempt. He's thrown for 12 touchdowns and run for five scores, so if A&M can't limit the explosive plays he consistently creates, it could be a long afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

A&M’s defense ranks No. 4 in the SEC, averaging 17.14 points per game, with one unit significantly better than the other. Their passing defense is No. 3 in the SEC, giving up 164.14 yards and 12.77 yards per completion. On the run, they rank No. 12 in the conference, allowing 141.71 yards. 

If Russell can keep the Aggies' defense on the field and win the time of possession while keeping the ball out of quarterback Marcel Reed’s hands, Elko & Co. will be in for a treat. 

“We've got to continue to find ways to get creative to disrupt the quarterback,” Elko said. “That's really, really important in how the game unfolds.”