Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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KeiVarae Russell Wins On And Off The Field FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY DAN MURPHY Everett (Wash.) Mariner senior Kei- Varae Russell gave Irish fans a brief bright spot to remember. An anemic offense managed only T he day Notre Dame lost to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl, one touchdown against the Semi- noles' physical defense — the Irish were held to 16 or fewer points for the third straight game — and the rushing attack turned in its second straight game with less than 100 net yards. Irish head coach Brian Kelly was running out of options to find an electric, playmaking back of the fu- ture in this year's recruiting class when Russell announced his pledge to come to South Bend next fall a few hours before kickoff, softening the blow of a gloomy season's end. Then again, Russell is no stranger to helping people smile. Last May, Russell was one of a handful of Everett citizens to win the Mayor 's Youth Achievement Award for being a positive influ- ence on the community. Russell's teachers and coaches describe him as a leader on and off the football field. Along with being a team cap- tain, he is the Mariner student body president. "When I first saw KeiVarae I ob- served a student who seemed to know every single person he passed in the hallways. He was always smiling ear to ear, shaking hands, greeting others cheerfully," said John McGuirk, one of the school's teachers in a letter nominating him for another leadership award. "As I introduced myself, I told him that he seemed to possess a ton of charisma, personality, kind- ness and positive energy, and that I just wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his excellent example of citizenship." McGuirk teaches special education classes and had never met Russell before. At the time, he had no idea that the magnetic high school ju- nior would become a four-star pros- pect and 247Sports' No. 5-ranked all-purpose back in the country. He didn't know Russell had rushed for 20 touchdowns and 6.4 yards per carry on his 288 rushes earlier that 40 MARCH 2012 Russell is ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit, the No. 3 player in Washington, the No. 5 all- purpose back in the land and the No. 122 overall player in the class of 2012. PHOTO BY BY NICOLE SHERIDAN/AURORA IMAGING BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED