East Carolina: Cole Cubelic reacts to Keelon Russell's starting debut vs.
East CarolinaHe pointed to the way the former Five Star Plus+ prospect handled himself with an offensive line that had an up-and-down performance and some issues with drops. But based on where Russell was within the offense and his knowledge of Ryan Grubb’s system, Cubelic liked what he saw.
It was a strong start for the sophomore quarterback after a closely watched competition. “Now, easy with that confidence because you’re going to play a couple teams in the near future that you might not be able to pull that off against.
“But also, you mentioned him on the move, doing some different things with his legs, I didn’t think he got a ton of help. The offensive line didn’t protect extremely well.
Cubelic gave Russell an A-minus for his performance in the season opener, he detailed on Read & React . $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage
KEY POINTS
- His dual-threat ability was on full display in the win over East Carolina and SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic revealed his grade.
- “Here’s what I liked: Some of the throws on the move, off-balance, changing the arm angle,” Cubelic said.
- Cole Cubelic shared his reaction to Keelon Russell's starting debut at Alabama against East Carolina and graded the performance.
- As Alabama kicked off the 2026 season, Crimson Tide fans also got their first look at Keelon Russell as the starting quarterback.