Seth Andrew Russell (born January 27, 1994) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...
.
Early years
Russell attended
Garland High School
Garland High School is a high school located in Garland, Texas, which serves grades 9-12. It is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school is a member of the AP program, the IB program, and is known for its football team, the ...
in
Garland, Texas
Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...
. As a senior, he completed 103 of 188 passes (54.7%) for 1,502 yards and 12 passing
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
, while also rushing for 471 yards on 83 attempts with 7 rushing touchdowns. Russell originally verbally committed to play football for the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
but later chose
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
.
College career
2012 season
Russell
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
as a freshman in 2012 and did not receive any playing time.
2013 season
He spent his freshman season in 2013 as the backup to
Bryce Petty
Bryce William Petty (born May 31, 1991) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Baylor University, and was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Early years
Petty is a member ...
. As Petty's back-up he appeared in 7 games, completing 26 of 43 passes (60.4%) for 427 yards with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 147 yards with 3 touchdowns.
2014 season
In 2014, Russell was again the backup to Petty. However, due to injury, Russell made his first career start against
Northwestern State
Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...
, replacing Petty who missed the game due to injury. During the game, he completed 16 of 25 passes for 438 yards and five touchdowns. Overall, he completed 48 of 85 for 804 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception, 185 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
2015 season
With Petty graduating, Russell competed to be Baylor's starter for 2015, and was seen as the favorite for the role over incoming freshman Jarrett Stidham and sophomore Chris Johnson. On September 26, Russell threw for 277 yards and six touchdowns in less than three quarters during a 70–17 win over
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
. Russell broke a bone in his neck in a win against Iowa State and required season ending surgery.
2016 season
On November 12, 2016, Russell suffered a fractured left ankle against
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. The day after the game, Baylor revealed that the injury would cause Russell to miss the rest of the season.
College statistics
Professional career
While still recovering from his ankle injury, Russell attended the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
and was able to throw and partake in the interview process.
After the combine, he threw 60 passes during Baylor's Pro Day and worked out for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. According to a league source, he received final medical clearance by doctors in mid-April.
Later that month, Russell went undrafted in the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. After the draft, he attended rookie minicamp with the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
and
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. He also had tryouts with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
,
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
, and
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. On September 18, 2017, Russell announced that he was medically retiring from football due to issues with his ankle.
References
External links
Baylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Seth
1994 births
Living people
People from Garland, Texas
Players of American football from Dallas
American football quarterbacks
Baylor Bears football players