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Shedeur Sanders is just months away from leaving the Colorado Buffaloes to transition to the NFL. With the clock ticking, Deion Sanders is so desperate that he is trying to poach a five-star prospect already committed to head coach Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Buffaloes head coach is painfully aware that his son and star quarterback is entering his final year of eligibility and already has one foot out of Colorado. So Sanders Sr. has been trying to woo some young prospects who can take over from Shedeur, still without success.
One of Sanders' top targets so far has been Julian Lewis, the five-star quarterback from Carrollton High School who recently committed to the USC Trojans, although his final decision is still up in the air.
With Lewis almost out of reach, "Coach Prime" decided to change his target and began taking solid steps to snatch away from DeBoer one of the best prep prospects, Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell.
The hunt for Russell
In a recent episode of the On3 Recruits podcast, analyst Josh Newberg said that Sanders is determined to get the services of the five-star quarterback. "Last week, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur went out to Duncanville, Texas, and watched Keelon Russell practice," Newberg reported.
Although Newberg considered it might be a "tough flip," he also ed that Russell already decommitted from the SMU Mustangs to commit to DeBoer's Alabama. This gives some hope to Sanders, who is not taking his finger off the line. "There has been dialogue and Colorado is trying to get him to campus as well," the analyst explained.
Russell is coming off one of the best games of his young career in Duncanville's 40-20 win over arch-rival DeSoto. The young quarterback led his team to victory by amassing 469 yards and six touchdown es, reaffirming his status as a top NCAA prospect.
Alabama's reputation
The big problem for Sanders is the Crimson Tide's reputation as an NFL hotbed. Alabama has placed 460 players on NFL teams since drafts began in 1936. Of those, 82 have been taken in the first round, including three first-overall picks.
According to reports, this is what convinced Russell and three other five-star players to commit to DeBoer's Crimson Tide.
The task looks complex, but Sanders is not one to back down in the face of difficulties. As long as there is even the slightest chance of convincing the young prospect, Coach Prime will continue to insist until he achieves his goal.