Russell’s dazzling debut fuels Alabama Crimson Tide to commanding SEC victory
The Alabama Crimson Tide ushered in a new era of confidence on Saturday night, as freshman quarterback Keelon Russell delivered a stunning debut performance that led the team to a dominant SEC win. For a program that thrives on championship standards, the game served as a reminder that the Tide’s pipeline of talent remains unmatched.
Russell, making his first collegiate start in front of a raucous Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd, looked anything but overwhelmed. He completed passes with precision, showcased poise in the pocket, and used his legs to extend plays when pressure mounted. By the end of the night, his stat line included over 300 total yards and three touchdowns—numbers that instantly endeared him to Alabama faithful.
Early on, the Tide leaned on their traditional strengths: a bruising run game and a relentless defense. Jase McClellan and Jam Miller combined to pound the ball between the tackles, wearing down the opposing front. Meanwhile, the defensive line suffocated every attempt at a counterattack, tallying multiple sacks and forcing turnovers that shifted momentum.
But it was Russell’s command of the offense that stole the spotlight. With the Tide trailing briefly in the second quarter, he led a crisp 80-yard drive capped off by a perfectly thrown touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. From that point on, Alabama never looked back.
Veteran wideout Isaiah Bond praised the young quarterback’s composure: “He just looked like he’d been here before. When the lights came on, he didn’t blink.” That trust allowed the Tide offense to open up, mixing explosive passing plays with their trademark power running.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer, in his postgame remarks, lauded Russell’s maturity. “Keelon played with great poise and confidence. This was just one game, but it showed us the kind of competitor and leader he can be.”
The defense ensured Alabama’s dominance was never in doubt. Linebacker Deontae Lawson anchored a unit that delivered punishing hits and suffocated any offensive rhythm from their opponent. By the fourth quarter, the Tide faithful were already chanting, as the outcome felt inevitable.
For Alabama, the victory means more than just a notch in the win column. It symbolizes the program’s continuity of excellence, even amid transitions. Russell’s emergence offers a glimpse of the future, one that could carry the Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff spotlight.
As the crowd emptied into the Tuscaloosa night, one truth was undeniable: Alabama doesn’t rebuild—it reloads. And with Keelon Russell at the helm, the Tide’s championship aspirations remain alive and well.
Celtics Plan Big Move With 3-Point Record-Setting $30 Million Guard, Report Says
The Boston Celtics team that won the NBA championship just two seasons ago is now long gone. Thanks to the “second apron” payroll threshold in the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been forced to dismantle the powerhouse team that remained largely intact through the 2024-2025 season as well.
)
The second apron comes with crippling penalties that restrict player movement and draft picks, resulting in a team’s inability to sustain itself over the long term.
Celtics Forced to Dismantle Historic Lineup
The Celtics, in an effort to cut payroll to stay under the second apron, have been forced to trade center Kristaps Porzingis and guard Jrue Holiday. Free agent center Luke Kornet was allowed to depart as a free agent, and 39-year-old free agent power forward Al Horford has not signed anywhere yet.
But the Celtics have not made any attempt to retain him. Horford is expected to make a move to the Golden State Warriors.
But despite the gutting of the Celtics’ championship lineup — made worse by the absence for most, if not all, of next season of four-time All-NBA power forward Jayson Tatum with a torn Achilles tendon — some elite Celtics players remain.
Boston has big plans for one of them, according to a new report on Thursday.
Pritchard Sets 3-Point Record Off Bench
The Celtics’ 2020 first-round draft pick out of Oregon, 27-year-old Payton Pritchard, not only won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2024-2025 for his work coming off the Celtics’ bench, he set a record on March 16 when he hit his 219th three-point shot of the season off the bench.
That topped the previous record of 218 set by Wayne Ellington of the Miami Heat in the 2017-2018 campaign.
Pritchard finished the season with his new record of 246 three-pointers off the bench. He also hit nine in the three games he started for a total of 255.
Sixth Man No More For Award Winning Guard
Now, however — according to a report by Grant Afseth of Fast Break Journal — on the new-look Celtics of 2025-2026, Pritchard’s days as a “sixth man” will be a thing of the past.
According to the report, the Celtics “appear poised to elevate Payton Pritchard into the starting lineup while using Anfernee Simons as a high-scoring option off the bench for the 2025–26 season if he remains on the roster.”
Simons, a 6-foot-3, 181-pound guard who averaged 19.3 points per game last season for the Portland Trail Blazers, was acquired by Boston in the July 7 trade that sent Holiday to Portland.
The Celtics will owe Simons $27.7 million this season, in the final year of his four-year contract. That means Boston may yet trade him away for a cheaper option, in order to stay below the second apron.
Pritchard has two years remaining on his four-year, $30 million contract, and has $7.8 million in salary coming to him in the 2025-2026 season.
Pritchard Brings Back Memories of Earlier Small Guard
Either way, Pritchard is expected to join the Celtics’ starting backcourt alongside eight-year veteran star Derrick White, with four-time All-Star Jaylen Brown taking over the Celtics lead scoring role in Tatum’s absence.
At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Pritchard appears undersized for the role of starting point guard, but Barstool Sports Celtics writer Dan “Greenie” Greenberg saw a parallel in recent Celtics history.
“In 2014-15, essentially the last time the Celtics were in a ‘rebuild,’ they brought in an undersized point guard who immediately changed the entire trajectory of the franchise,” Greenberg wrote.
That undersized point guard was 5-foot-9-inch Isaiah Thomas, who went on to average 24.7 points per game in his three-year period with the Celtics, leading Boston to the playoffs in all three seasons — and to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016-2017.
The Celtics have been a playoff team every year since Thomas joined, getting to the Eastern Finals six times and the NBA Finals twice, winning the legendary franchise its 18th championship in 2024.
“Nearly 10 years later, it still never gets old,” Greenberg wrote.
