Alabama quarterback signee Keelon Russell added another outstanding accolade to his dominant high school resume. The five-star passer was named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Russell beat out Auburn running back signee Alvin Hendeson and high school junior offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell out of Nixa, Missouri to become the first-ever Alabama signee to win the award.

The Duncanville (TX) High School standout has completed 220 of 316 pass attempts for 3,874 yards and 53 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Russell led his team to a Texas UIL 6A state title as a junior, before building on that momentum by rocketing up recruiting boards and piquing the interest of the Tide as a then-SMU commit. Russell committed to Alabama in early June and his stock continued to rise. He won the Elite 11 this summer and became the No. 3 overall player in the class by National Signing Day.

“There’s a swagger about him, a confidence about him,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said of Russell during his signing day press conference. “He’s helped become a major part of bringing and keeping this class together, which is what you want out of any leader especially these key guys, especially your quarterback. He’s just having a great championship run with his high school.

"So excited about what he brings. He’s got the arm talent, just accurate, can throw with different arm slots and all that kind of stuff and then also just the ability as an athlete to make plays with his feet, just an added dimension there.”

Russell will enroll early at Alabama and join a deep Tide quarterback room this winter. He is one of three five-star signees for the Tide along with offensive lineman Michael Carroll and cornerback Dijon Lee Jr.

Before he arrives in Tuscaloosa, Russell will aim to bring another state championship to Duncanville. The Panthers face North Crowley in the Texas UIL 6A Division I semi-finals finals Saturday.