JaMarcus Russell: From LSU Star to NFL Draft Bust
JaMarcus Trenell Russell, born on August 9, 1985, is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the LSU Tigers before a brief and turbulent career in the National Football League (NFL). While at LSU, Russell showcased immense talent, leading to high expectations. However, his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders was short and marked by performance issues.
Early Life and High School Career
Russell was born in Mobile, Alabama. He attended Lillie B. Williamson High School, where he was the starting quarterback for all four years under head coach Bobby Parrish. He never missed a football game. In his freshman year, Russell completed 180 of 324 passes for 2,683 yards and 20 touchdowns. Williamson reached the state championship game. By his sophomore year, Russell had grown to six-foot-three and 185 pounds. He had received his first recruiting letters and was becoming more adept with the playbook.
Russell's best season was his senior year. He completed 219 of 372 passes for 3,332 yards and 22 touchdowns. He rushed for another 400 yards and five touchdowns. This earned him honors from Parade magazine. His high school career total of 10,774 passing yards broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association record.
College Career at LSU
In February 2003, Russell committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) over Florida State University. He became the LSU Tigers' 28th and final recruit of the 2003 season. He redshirted his freshman year. By the fall of the 2005 season, Russell was the starting quarterback. He led the Tigers to a 10-1 regular season record, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Western Division title, and a top-five ranking going into the SEC Championship Game. He also improved statistically, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,443 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Russell led the Tigers to two come-from-behind wins in the regular season. The first came on a 39-yard pass to Early Doucet on 4th down in the final minute of the game, as the Tigers defeated Arizona State 35-31. Russell injured his shoulder in a loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. He missed the team's bowl game.
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Russell was the starting quarterback again at LSU in 2006, beating out Matt Flynn and highly touted redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux. Before the season began, he changed his jersey number from 4 to 2. He had a productive 2006 regular season, leading the Tigers to a 10-2 record and a BCS Sugar Bowl berth. He threw for 3,129 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was second in the SEC with 2,923 yards from scrimmage.
During one game against Tennessee, Russell started the game poorly, throwing three interceptions (including one that was returned for a touchdown). But he subsequently led LSU on a 15-play, 80-yard comeback drive at the end of the game. At the end of the drive, Russel threw a touchdown pass to Early Doucet while there was less than 10 seconds left. As a result, LSU won 28-24. In the Allstate Sugar Bowl, he accumulated over 350 yards of passing and rushing combined and scored three touchdowns, leading LSU to a 41-14 win over Notre Dame.
His LSU stats include:
- 2006 Season: 67.8% completion percentage, 3,129 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, 9.1 yards per pass, 167.0 rating in 13 games. He also rushed for 142 yards and one touchdown with 8 interceptions.
- Career: 61.8% completion percentage, 6,745 passing yards, 52 passing touchdowns, 8.3 yards per pass, 146.8 rating in 36 games. He also rushed for 58 yards and five touchdowns with 22 interceptions.
Russell also guided LSU to eight fourth-quarter comebacks during his career. Here are a few examples:
- Against Arizona State, trailing 15-7 with 1:36 to play, Russell drove the Tigers 64 yards on 4 plays. This included completions of 26 and 38 yards to Dwayne Bowe. The second of which went for a touchdown pulling the Tigers to within 15-13. Russell then tied the game with a 3-yard rush to successfully convert the 2-point attempt to tie the game at 15-15 with 33 1:05 to play.
- Down 24-20 entering the fourth quarter against Florida, Russell again marched the Tigers downfield to a victory in the final stanza. Russell’s second comeback victory had the Tigers going 61 yards on 7 plays to take a 27-24 lead on a 7-yard run by Alley Broussard with 10:45 to play.
- Down 31-28 with 4:07 to play and on their own 9-yard line against Tennessee, Russell engineered a memorable drive. The Tigers went 91 yards on 10 plays. Down to their last chance on a 4th-and-10 situation at the ASU 39, Russell rolled out of the pocket, avoided a sack, and found Early Doucet in the endzone for what proved to be the game-winning score with 1:13 left in the contest.
- Despite dominating the Gators for three quarters, the Tigers found themselves down 17-14, but with the ball going into the fourth quarter. On its first possession of the fourth quarter, Russell completed passes on 3rd down twice to keep the drive going and then ran 4 yards on a 4th-and-1 to keep the possession alive. Russell’s second 3rd-down conversion was a 31-yard strike to Dwayne Bowe, which got the ball to the Florida 12.
- Down 17-14 with 4:52 to play against Auburn, Russell completed passes of 8 and 31 yards to Dwayne Bowe, setting up a 44-yard game-tying field goal by Chris Jackson with 1:40 to play.
- Down 10-0 at halftime against Alabama, Russell rallied the Tigers to a 10-10 tie with No. 3 Alabama late in the third quarter. Russell then put the Tigers in position to win the game in regulation, but Chris Jackson’s 49-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with 54 seconds to play sending the game to overtime. In overtime, Alabama struck first, scoring on a 34-yard field goal to take a 13-10 lead. On LSU’s overtime possession, Russell completed a 10-yard pass to Justin Vincent on first down, taking the ball to the Bama 15-yard line. The Tigers managed just four yards on their next two plays setting up 3rd-and-6 at Alabama 11-yard line.
- Down 24-21 following a 54-yard scoring play by Tennessee, Russell and the Tigers had 80-yards in front of them and 7:23 on the clock. Russell used both his feet and his arm to lead the Tigers to this victory. Russell ran 11-yards on 2nd-and-10 at the LSU 31 to give the Tigers a first down with just over 5 minutes to play. After an incomplete pass, two 1-yard yard runs and a 5-yard penalty, the Tigers were then faced with 4th-and-8 at the UT 42-yard line with 2:15 to go. Russell calmly connected with Early Doucet for an 8-yard gain to the UT 34-yard line to keep the chains moving for the Tigers. Russell connected with Doucet for 11 more yards on LSU’s next play and then following a Jacob Hester 9-yard run, the Tigers were all the way down to the UT 14-yard line. Keiland Williams picked up another first down with a 7-yard run to bring the ball to the 7-yard line. After two plays yielded 3 yards for the Tigers and with just 9 seconds left on the clock, Russell hit Doucet with a 4-yard pass to lift LSU to a 28-24 win over No.
- Trailing 20-7 late in the third quarter against Ole Miss, Russell went to work, taking the Tigers on an 8-play , 59-yard drive to pull within 20-14 on a 4-yard TD pass to Early Doucet with 8:35 to play. After stalling at midfield on its next possession, the Tigers had one final shot as they got the ball back at their own 42-yard line with 2:35 to play. Russell again went to his feet, rushing 15-yards on first down to get the ball into Ole Miss territory. Following 2 plays that netted only 2 yards, the Tigers were again faced with 3rd-and-8 at the Ole Miss 41. Russell hit Craig Davis for a 20-yard gain and a first down at the Ole Miss 21. Russell converted on another 3rd-down situation, rushing 12 yards to the Ole Miss 5 with under a minute to play. Three consecutive incompletions left the Tigers down to their final play, with no timeouts at the Ole Miss 5-yard line. Russell, again came through, hitting Dwayne Bowe with a 5-yard pass to tie the game at 20-20 with 14 seconds to play. LSU’s point-after was blocked sending the game into overtime.
At the end of the 2006 season, Russell was named to the all-SEC first-team. He was chosen over other top quarterbacks. On January 10, 2007, Russell decided to enter the 2007 NFL draft.
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NFL Career with the Oakland Raiders
Russell was chosen by the Oakland Raiders as the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. John Clayton of ESPN said that Russell's arm strength and size impressed many teams. He predicted it would be hard to pass on Russell as the first pick. Russell himself said he was always bigger and taller than other kids. He could always throw the ball a good distance.
Contract Negotiations and Early Struggles
Russell did not sign a contract with the Raiders right away. He missed training camp and the first week of the 2007 NFL season. On September 12, he signed a six-year contract. It was worth up to $68 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed. Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin did not make Russell the starting quarterback immediately.
Russell played his first professional game on December 2, 2007. This was against the Denver Broncos. He came into the game in the second quarter. He completed 4 of 7 passes for 56 yards. On December 23, 2007, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Russell threw his first career touchdown pass. It was a two-yard pass to Zach Miller. He finished that game with 7 completions on 23 attempts for 83 yards. He had one touchdown pass and three interceptions.
Russell made his first career start in the last game of the season. This was against the San Diego Chargers. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. These mistakes led to 17 points for the Chargers. Russell completed 23 of 31 passes for 224 yards. He had one touchdown, two interceptions, and a lost fumble. Russell finished his first season with 36 completed passes on 66 attempts. He had 373 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.
2008 Season
Russell was named the starter for the opening game of the 2008 season. It was against the Denver Broncos. The Raiders lost 41-14. Russell completed 17 of 26 passes for 180 yards. He also threw two touchdowns. In the next game, the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8. Russell passed for 55 yards. In Week 7, the Raiders beat the New York Jets 16-13 in overtime. This win ended their four-game home losing streak. Russell completed 17 of 30 passes for 203 yards and one touchdown. This was coach Tom Cable's first win as Raiders head coach. Russell led the team on a 43-yard drive. This set up the game-winning field goal. The next four games were losses. A week later, he led the Raiders to a 31-10 victory against Denver. Russell finished the 2008 season by winning two games in a row. These were against the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Benchings and Release
In August 2009, Russell was named the starting quarterback for the Raiders. In a Week 5 loss to the New York Giants, Russell lost three fumbles. He passed for 100 yards. After a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on November 15, Russell was benched. Coach Tom Cable chose Bruce Gradkowski to start instead. Gradkowski led two fourth-quarter comebacks. He upset the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers in the next two weeks. After Gradkowski was injured, Russell finished a game for the Raiders. It resulted in a loss. Coach Cable then decided to start Charlie Frye instead of Russell. This moved Russell to third on the team's quarterback list. When Frye was injured, Russell played near the end of a game. The game resulted in a win. In March 2010, Russell was reported to be heavier than his playing weight. By April, he was reported to be even heavier.
The Raiders traded for quarterback Jason Campbell. This left the team with five quarterbacks. The Raiders filed a grievance on May 28, 2010, seeking $9.55 million back from Russell for what was paid as salary advances for the 2010 to 2012 NFL seasons. His agent said "The money in question was fully guaranteed. That is why Russell was forced to hold out and miss all of training camp as a rookie.
After the NFL
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton said in May 2010 that the time was not right for the Saints to consider signing Russell, but added in that it was "newsworthy" when a high draft pick is released so soon, and said players like Russell often get second chances in the NFL. However, due in part to concerns about his work ethic, Russell has never played another down in an NFL game.
On September 26, 2010, ESPN.com reported that Russell had moved to Houston, Texas, and was working out with former NBA standout and head coach John Lucas, who was also consulting him as a life coach. Russell had a workout with the Washington Redskins on November 2, 2010, but was not signed. On November 15, 2010, Russell, who at the time was at 292 pounds, worked out for the Miami Dolphins with four other quarterbacks to replace an injured Chad Pennington on the Dolphins' roster.
In 2013, Russell stated that he was interested in returning to the NFL, and would train at the Test Football Academy in Martinsville, New Jersey with various NFL players, including Marshall Faulk and Jeff Garcia, along with Olympian Ato Boldon. Russell's comeback attempt was documented by Bleacher Report in a series titled JaMarcus Russell's Road Back to the NFL. In May 2013, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Russell had returned to his rookie weight of 265 pounds. Interest from the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens had also been reported. Russell tried out for the Bears on June 7, 2013, and, according to a report from ESPN, presented a "solid" performance while working out alongside fellow free-agent quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Jordan Palmer.
Personal Life and Legal Issues
Russell's uncle Ray Ray Russell was a long-time DJ and radio host for the Mobile, Alabama-based station WBLX until his death in 2009. On July 5, 2010, Russell was arrested at his Mobile, Alabama home for being in possession of codeine syrup without a valid prescription. His arrest was the culmination of a two-month investigation that did not initially target Russell, but his name and address surfaced repeatedly during the investigation. Russell was bailed out, and a bond hearing was scheduled for July 7, 2010.
On June 29, 2024, it was reported that Russell was facing a lawsuit in which he was accused of taking a $74,000 check that was meant for the Williamson High School football program, his alma mater. Russell, who had been a volunteer assistant coach at Williamson since 2018, was fired from this position in the fall of 2023. Russell allegedly approached the donor in the summer of 2022 about a donation to purchase weight room equipment for the Williamson football team. Russell received a check for $74,000 from the donor in July 2022, deposited it at a credit union, and immediately withdrew $55,000. The donor eventually stopped payment on the check when Russell wouldn't provide a receipt of the donation and stopped returning his phone calls.
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