FanPost

On Seth Russell And The Things We Take For Granted...


Seth Russell is hard to explain.

He had to be seen in real-time to be believed. You had to be there. You had to be actively invested in Baylor Nation to really remember how great a season he was having in his first year as the starter before he got injured. His 2015 on pace numbers jump off the page even now, but actually watching him play in person was an unreal experience. It felt fake. It was like watching your Road to Glory QB from NCAA Football come to life. He could throw deep with accuracy from the pocket, he could throw on the run, he took risks, he outran entire defenses, he ran over people, he threw blocks on defensive linemen after handing the ball off, and he could hurdle defenders with ease.

But he also couldn't really be appreciated in game. While watching him it never dawned on you exactly how dominant he was because he made it look so effortless as he broke the will of defense after defense. He always looked fast but never like he was sprinting. He threw the ball deep but never like it was heavy. He talked trash on the field but never looked less than composed. It was easy to take for granted while it was happening and only once it was gone did we realize what we were all really seeing.

In the Twitter reminiscing that prompted this post I compared him to Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant is so skilled for his height that it never looks difficult for him to make a shot. Nobody really has the combination of height, quickness, and strength necessary to challenge him possession after possession and he isn't particularly demonstrative after scoring. He's been surrounded by other, more in your face talent so it's easy not to notice as he works his way up to 35 points on 60% shooting from the field and a lead your team can no longer overcome. 2015 Seth Russell embodied that. Players like Corey Coleman and KD Cannon were unstoppable when playing with Seth and they let defenses and the crowd know about it. It was common for them to be seen flexing on and jawing with defenders after (and sometimes even moments before) burning them for 50 yard touchdowns as Seth Russell quietly points to the sky.

This wasn't a lack of confidence but the opposite. Seth always knew how cold he was on the field and watching him in person you could recognize that in ways you can't by watching highlights. And even after his worst moments you could always tell he'd come right back and throw an easy TD to Corey Coleman or Jay Lee or whoever. Until we got told he wasn't going to come right back. His neck injury was terrible news for all of us and we hated it for him but I don't know that any of us had truly taken stock of what we had lost in the moment.

We knew we had a team good enough to make the playoffs that year, and the focus immediately shifted to whether or not Jarrett Stidham could still make that a reality, and until he got hurt too it looked like he might.

The parallels to our current reality are easy to see. We've all lost something or maybe even someone as the world as we knew it has begun to crumble, or at least been put on hold. We've all jumped to whether or not we can save the next thing and that's important to think about. But it's also important to truly remember what we've lost and why. To remember the Seth Russells while we try to find the Johnny Jeffersons in the Wildcat offense for the bowl game. When we do move forward, and we will, be sure to appreciate what you're seeing in real time. Cause you never know when it'll be gone for good.

Be well, my friends.

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