Football fans rarely love offseasons. What is more gruesome and tiring than 8 months without the footballing broadcasts? However, this is the time scouts, analysts, and sports journalists love the most. This is a time when you get those highly touted 5-star recruits, you see their tapes, you judge them what they are going to offer to their teams. And still, it isn’t enough.

Despite all the analysis and all the talent a top prospect possesses, all the magical moments they show on their tapes. There always remains a level of uncertainty. You can’t just go and bet all your money on the prospect. After all, there are things more than those tapes and analyses that determine their fate going forward. Things that will make or break a player’s career. A former Penn State legend recently talked about some similar things that could potentially be detrimental even for highly touted prospects like Keelon Russel and Bryce Underwood.

Adam Breneman talked in his recent video about why many 5-star recruits fail to deliver on the biggest stage despite all the hype. “Step one is just picking the wrong school from the start, some five stars go to a program just for the hype, and they don’t go where they have the best fit. They may go where they’re getting paid the most money. If the system doesn’t fit their skill set, especially at a skill position type of player you will not get developed“. His concern is quite reasonable since even players make mistakes in choosing the best for themselves and sometimes be tempted by the prospect of money. Take, for example, the case of Bryce Underwood.

He is one of those rare players that maybe come once in 20 or 30 years. In a sense, he is a generational talent and has also achieved a historic feat by having a perfect 100r rating. The player has now signed for Michigan Wolverines and had decommitted from Brian Kelly’s LSU back in November. Was it maybe because Sherrone Moore was offering him a whopping $12 Million deal or maybe he just had an admiration of their program? No one can tell conclusively. But, we can delve into a deeper question: Does Sherrone Moore’s Michigan has enough to provide a platform for this generational prodigy?

Underwood is a freakish athlete and an explosive runner. That makes him one of the most promising dual-threat QB prospects. His ability to evade sacks and tackles on the run is something of an added bonus. Furthermore, when you watch his arm talent, he looks quite natural in his throws. As he executes the passes with both accuracy and speed. He has some problems in his arm delivery motion, but he can correct them with time. Now, when you look at Sherrone Moore’s Michigan he has long wanted to create an ‘explosive offense’. Where he exploits both gap runs and zone runs with a 50/50 pass-to-run ratio. So, Sherrone Moore’s offensive schemes combined with their OC Chip Lindsey’s vast experience, he should definitely thrive in Michigan. However, Brenman also provided another scenario.

Does Keelon Russel have a cause to worry about in Alabama?

“The second thing is competition. Just hitting really hard at the High School a lot of guys dominate but they’re not used to getting competed with at a high level. Some guys cannot handle that pressure and that’s the truth. The third thing is just a lack of work ethic. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Talent gets you the offer, but the work ethic keeps you on the field“. Apart from these issues, he also pointed out the off-field issues that create some problems for the 5-star prospects in general, which can be academic pressure or problems with distractions amid the pomp and show that is college football. Keelon Russel is another QB prospect who can become a victim of just that, and here’s why.

Kellon Russel is undoubtedly one of the most elite talents in Alabama’s camp. Standing at 6 foot 3.25 inches tall and 182 lbs, DeBoer will do everything to develop him into a world-class QB. However, there are still some concerns with him. First and foremost he is certainly lacking in some advanced understanding of situations that advanced defenses can present. We often see him hanging in the pocket as he finds it difficult to progress into the blitzes that defenses throw. That’s where De Boer and his offensive schemes come in, and here’s why.

DeBoer, in his offensive schemes, frequently uses the spread offense with multiple receivers lined up wide and the QB in a shotgun or pistol formation. His offense spread also typically involves multiple RPO schemes using mesh points for progression. So, that means passing becomes supremely important in his schemes. Keelon Russel, while accurate and precise with his throws, has demonstrated some need for improvement in his abilities. That will be a big challenge for him to execute in a Squad like Alabama. That plays every game with high expectations and pressure that come with its name. The verdict?

Both the QBs look quite generational in their own right. The main focus here is to highlight that they still need to keep their head down and work on their development. Both the QBs have the infrastructure and support staff to do just that.