Two Alabama football five-star recruits emerging in second year

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Nothing about that fifth star is a guarantee.

Not of a championship, not of individual success, or even a guarantee of playing time.

High school football recruits rated five-stars by various recruiting services often make a quick impact as freshmen for a reason; they're the elite athletes every major college program covets. It happens often enough that when they don't, fans wonder 'what's wrong?'

In the case of James Smith and Qua Russaw, the answer is absolutely nothing.

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The Alabama football duo, both five-star recruits as teammates at Montgomery Carver two years ago, didn't see the field much at all as freshmen in 2023. Smith made two tackles on the defensive line, while Russaw, a linebacker, didn't play a down and took a redshirt. Both, however, have the look of emergent contributors to the Crimson Tide's 2024 defense.

Smith batted down two passes against Western Kentucky in Alabama's 63-0 season-opening win, while Russaw got a starting nod at the Wolf linebacker position and made four tackles, including one for a 3-yard loss.

"(Russaw has) taken a huge step in terms of his understanding about overall football the way that he takes notes in meetings. He's always making me have to sneak out of a meeting to come meet with him, and that's one of the things I love about him," said Alabama outside linebackers coach, Christian Robinson. "He said something in one of the meetings, that in high school he got hurt, and when he was going through that, how much he missed football. So he's preparing as if it's going away."

As for Smith, he's commanding time in a lively rotation of interior defensive linemen that includes Tim Keenan, Jeheim Oatis, Tim Smith and Damon Payne Jr. At 6-foot-3, 296 pounds, he'll bring a rare mix of power and quickness to the UA defensive line this fall. So what held him back previously? Sticking to his assignment was one issue, but Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Smith has made major strides in that regard.

"Coming out of spring football there was too much inconsistency in his game. We really challenged him in the offseason to live within the framework of the defense," Wommack said. "He always is going to make plays, he’s a special playmaker. He’s got that knack, which is what you want to see. Then you just have to build some consistency within those things and I thought the level of growth from him in that three-month window from when we finished A-Day to when we into fall camp, I thought he took really great ownership of that."

The ex-Carver standouts were part of legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban's last signing class in 2023, and two of only 32 five-star recruits in the nation, per On3.com.

They didn't make the instant splash.

But it looks like the splash is coming just the same.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

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