JJ Russell: Path To The NFL Draft
By Simon Carroll
What is your why?
It’s a question that has become popular to ask NFL athletes as people try to understand the motivation to be great. For some, it comes from an early age; they find an inspiration to push themselves. Be it personal glory, a desire for a better life, security for their family, or just a relentless drive to be the best – the goals are set, and the fuel used to get there is in place.
For others, the path to success isn’t immediately apparent. Some guys don’t find their why until later in the process, likely due to a culmination of reasons. For JJ Russell, his journey has led him to crossroads more than once, and yet the Memphis tackling machine now stands on the verge of making it to the highest level of the sport. He sits down with Simon Carroll to discuss football, family, faith, and his path to the NFL Draft:
"Nobody Could Tell Me Anything"
JJ Russell cuts a physically imposing figure. 6’1” and 225lbs, the Memphis inside linebacker is known for being the hammer of the Tigers defense, a tone-setter who plays hard and hits even harder. But as a young boy embracing the game of football, lining up on defense was the furthest thing from his mind:
“I started playing football when I was seven years old. It was on a pee wee team with a bunch of my friends, whose fathers were our coaches. I played running back then – I thought I was going to be the next Reggie Bush. I hated playing defense. Nobody could tell me anything – you can’t force me to go out there and tackle somebody. And so I played running back until I was like eleven, twelve years old.”
But things changed when Russell got to Middle School. Football became more disciplined, more regimented. JJ found himself moved from his preferred position of running back to fullback, and it’s fair to say he didn’t particularly embrace the change of role:
“I went from being the best thing on the field to just another guy on the team. And playing fullback, it had its perks in the end, but in the beginning it had me thinking that maybe football wasn’t so fun any more. I went from everyone loving me and enjoying the game to a position I’d never played before and all I did was just block. And I was light for a fullback, just 165lbs, so I played on the B Team a lot. You had the good guys, and the regular guys, and I was a regular guy. But looking back, it was the making of me; having to play on the B Team and block guys a lot bigger than you, it was either you or him. And that brought out the dog in me.”
Make Or Break
Before JJ Russell began to appreciate the benefit of playing fullback, his dedication to football wavered. Not having the same fun he did when he was younger, he began to look at other sports as an alternative:
“I started playing basketball. At one point my whole focus had moved to basketball. So much so that it got to a point where I wanted to quit football. One day I walked into the complex, ready to lift weights, and I turned to my OC Coach McCoy and said “I think I’m done”. He listened to me, and said “look JJ, If you give this game everything you got, I promise you will be successful. I really believe in you.” I didn’t know it until then, but that was what I needed to hear. And I did as he asked – I worked twice as hard as everyone else. They moved me to corner, my first real taste of the defense, then safety, before in the tenth grade they lined me up at outside linebacker. I just embraced it.”
In the state of Mississippi, high school football is no joke. Grenada High School played at the 6A level against tough opposition. Yet Russell played OLB at just 185lbs, a testament to the ‘dog in him’ that he and Coach McCoy found. As he got comfortable in his new position and showed he could more than compete, he finally found his long term home in the eleventh grade – at inside linebacker.
Hard Work Pays Off
JJ Russell was a changed man. His whole attitude to football was recalibrated, embracing every day as an opportunity to get better. As he made the inside linebacker position his own, he talks about how he and his close friends on the team put in the work to be great:
“I worked countless hours. I can remember waking up before school, hitting the gym. Then we’d get after it at practice. Then after school, me and CJ Avery (now at Louisville) and Genard Avery (defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles) we just went to work. Grenada isn’t a big town, there’s not a whole lot to do, so all we did was work. We fell in love with the grind.”
This new focus paid dividends for Russell, who despite considering himself undersized for the position, put up monster stats in his high school career; 242 tackles, 30 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks and 4 forced fumbles – and over half that production came in his senior season. The confidence instilled in him by his coach and the work ethic he embraced allowed him to reach levels new heights on the field. According to the linebacker, it was a daily mission to prove people wrong:
“It allowed me to play with a chip on my shoulder. Every play was just me proving to the world that I could do this, that I belonged here. I’m not only better than you thought I was – I’m the best.”
Serious Attention
Blessed to receive my 4th offer from the University of Memphis🐅 pic.twitter.com/FjqDWMrNjD
— Javaris Russell (@JavarisRussell) February 25, 2016
JJ Russell had well and truly arrived, and college football programs were beginning to take notice. On the back of his senior year exploits, Russell had offers from Cal, as well as SEC schools Missouri, in-state Ole Miss, and Mississippi State, who he initially committed to. Yet, as a lot of recruits do, JJ changes his mind and flips to Memphis – a school that has done extremely well recruiting in Mississippi the last decade or so. Despite that, and the similar distance for both programs from his hometown, it must have been a big decision to forego a Power 5, SEC football program in favour of one from the AAC. As Russell explains, it was the connection he made with the coach that recruited him that ultimately led him to head to the Tigers of South-West Tennessee:
“Dan Lanning was recruiting me at the time. And just to start off it was a relationship that we established between us. It was more than football, something real – I believed in him, trusted him, and even when I was committed to Mississippi State he stayed along the way, helping me out and giving me advice on life. On top of that you had former teammates Genard Avery and Shareef White up there, and they’d back up what the coach was telling me about the place. And then one thing that really resonated with me was the grind – it’s just the Memphis way. It doesn’t matter if you’re highly recruited or a walk on, nothing is given to you. It’s all business and you get to work. You don’t even get the clothes for free. Everything at Memphis, you have to earn. And I loved that about it. I loved that grit, that grind.”
Much like his former coach at Grenada, Russell placed his faith in a coach who had his back. He credits Dan Lanning for making Memphis feel like ‘a home away from home’, and you get the impression he will always have a fondness for the city. He wasn’t the first to buy into the culture created at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, with plenty of talent passing through the program in recent years such as Tony Pollard, Antonio Gibson and Darrell Henderson, as well as Russell’s close friend Genard Avery. Memphis knows how to recruit, and they know how to win. And Russell would be a big part of their success the next five years.
Taking It To The Next Level
JJ Russell contributed immediately at Memphis, seeing plenty of snaps as a freshman. It was the following year where he nailed down a starting role, and he became a key piece of the Tigers defense. Anybody else who played 57 games for their school, recording 306 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and one interception would look back with satisfaction on a collegiate career that not many would match. Yet Russell freely admits that the first four years of his time there weren’t up to the high standards he held for himself:
“My early time in Memphis, I dunno, I was just playing football. I was flying around and tackling, but I was doing the bare minimum when it came to the game of football. I was still working my ass off, but football is so much more than just hitting people. I was missing that knowledge piece of the game, studying the film, knowing what your opponents were going to do before they did it. It didn’t allow me to get to the ball faster, allow me to make those plays you’re not supposed to make. I guess you could say I was just going through the motions until my senior year.”
Considering the production, you might find that to be harsh self-criticism, but it’s another example of the self-awareness Russell demonstrates throughout the interview. He didn’t realise it at the time, but he had a whole lot more to give. It would take someone special to come into his life and show him his true potential – and how faith could be the key to him achieving it:
“My wife is amazing man. She is everything. I wouldn’t be the man that I am today without her. She properly opened my eyes to God – I’d always been a believer but at some point in my life I wasn’t so consistent with it. But then I met her, and she never wavered. She stayed strong in her faith no matter what. At times I would challenge her not to believe – in tough moments I would tell her ‘it’s either me or God – who you gonna choose?’, and she would always choose God! And that just drove me. I knew I had to have a relationship with God. I wanted a taste of it, I wanted a part of this fire she had. Just having that accountability figure in my life to help keep me in line was so important. Even before I became a great leader on the team she was telling me I could do so much more here. She’s a big part of who I am today.”
First Coach McCoy, then Coach Lanning, then his wife Amber; at every stage JJ needed somebody he could lean on, he found them. Armed with his restored faith in God and faith in the people around him, Russell returned for his super senior year at Memphis. The transformation was incredible; the previous three years, he recorded 58 tackles. In 2021, he exploded for 123. He matched the work ethic on the field with a new-found dedication off it – and new opportunities have come as a result.
Zeroing In On The NFL
JJ Russell is the perfect balance of humility and confidence. Fully aware of his ability on the field, he plays with a big chip on his shoulder that has come from working through plenty of tough moments. Yet he’s also quick to praise God and those around him for bringing what he calls ‘the missing piece of the jigsaw’ to his game. He talks of a healthier appreciation for aspects of football that he previously neglected, such as the film room and being a leader in the locker room. And his final year at Memphis is all the evidence you need to see that this new outlook has translated into results.
That growth has not gone unnoticed. He was invited to attend The College Gridiron Showcase, an event that gives prospects access to NFL teams but also educates them about the journey ahead. Russell appreciated the opportunity:
“I think it went great. The seminars in particular – they taught me a lot of things I didn’t know about, especially the financial side of the game and what it truly is like to live as a professional athlete. There’s so much more to it than what you see on camera. But also the opportunity to go and compete with some of the best prospects in the nation, and to create some relationships with those guys as well. And finally to be able to sit down with NFL teams and have interviews with them, it was a great experience. I got a chance to talk to eleven teams and I was thankful.”
Being known as a hard hitter, I was expecting Russell to reply with the likes of Vontaze Burfict or Bobby Wagner when I asked him which NFL linebackers he likes to study. Instead, he refers to Kwon Alexander, Demario Davis and Eric Kendricks, three anticipatory tacklers who have the speed and instincts to make hits from sideline to sideline. Another example of his new found understanding of the game, Kendricks in particular is an intriguing comparison as someone with similar size, speed and production to Russell, and you can feel the admiration for the Minnesota Viking star.
Final Draft Preparations
Right now, JJ Russell is busy getting ready for Memphis’ pro day on March 24th. It’s another opportunity to show the NFL what he offers, and he’s keen to open eyes to his athleticism that he feels is rare for an inside linebacker. In his own words, Russell has been ‘overlooked for far too long’, and you feel his career is in a place right now that will allow him to showcase the best version of himself. No longer considered just a one-dimensional enforcer, Russell intends to demonstrate that he brings the full package to the next level.
I ask Russell what it would mean to him to be drafted. He thinks about it for a while, but unlike others, he moves straight past the initial feeling of that moment and focuses on the opportunity it brings:
“It would mean everything, because it allows me to show the world that JJ Russell is a f***in’ dog. When I get into the league, there’s going to be no relaxing. I’m not going to take a step off. It’s finally a level playing field, and I have the chance to show you all that I belong here.”
Don’t tell JJ Russell he’s close to the top of the mountain. He’s only just getting started.
A huge thank you to JJ for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchown wishes him well in his future career.