'12 WA RB Keivarae Russell (Notre Dame Signed LOI)

NDVirginia19 · Apr 25, 2016

I hope Pittsburgh can snag him in the 2nd. Also, does anyone have a link to the sports science with him?

RDU Irish · Apr 25, 2016

I thought he was a consensus 3rd day pick (rd 4+)? Who in their right mind would pick him in the first round?

pkt77242 · Apr 25, 2016

RDU Irish said:
I thought he was a consensus 3rd day pick (rd 4+)? Who in their right mind would pick him in the first round?

I agree that the first round is crazy but I have seen many mock drafts with him going in the 3rd round.

RDU Irish · Apr 25, 2016

Given injury and previous production I wouldn't blame someone for stretching into the third round for him, first or second not so much. Love to see the Bears get him in RD5.

Sherm Sticky · Apr 25, 2016

Mayock moved Russell up to #3 safety in his board.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

zelezo vlk · Apr 25, 2016

RDU Irish said:
Given injury and previous production I wouldn't blame someone for stretching into the third round for him, first or second not so much. Love to see the Bears get him in RD5.

He'd be an athletic safety, just what Fangio wants. Have Amos teach him how to hit hard and watch the new Whitner and Goldson

Shamrock Theories · Apr 30, 2016

Now a KC Chief per pick #74 overall

Congrats Kei

Legacy · Apr 30, 2016

Chiefs’ second pick of draft, KeiVarae Russell of Notre Dame, is grateful for chance

When the phone finally rang on Friday evening, KeiVarae Russell tried to keep his emotions intact. The 20 or so people who gathered around him in a real estate building 20 minutes away from his hometown of Everett, Wash., grew quiet as he spoke on the other line ... at least until he couldn’t hold in the emotion anymore.

“I was trying not to show it right away, but I was kind of acting like it was somebody else,” an emotional Russell said during his first news conference after the Chiefs selected him in the third round, 74th overall, of the NFL Draft. “They definitely knew it was a team, but they didn’t know what team exactly, but then when they saw it was Kansas City, they went crazy.”

They had reason to celebrate. Russell, a three-year starter at Notre Dame, hasn’t had the easiest road to get to this point.

“I’ve seen my mom struggle, we never had much, and it was just a way out to help my family, and a way to make my family smile, too,” Russell said. “I was the first one to graduate high school, and the first one to go to college, so I’ll be the first one to get my degree when I get it.

“So this is something big, man, that’s why it feels special man, to just be able to change my circumstances and be able to play the game I’ve loved since I was a kid.”

“It’s an isolated instance,” general manager John Dorsey said. “He’s a really sharp ... kid. Everybody in South Bend loves him. He was the class president of his high school. He’s a well-spoken, articulate, sincere guy who likes to play the game of football, plus he wants to get himself a degree.”

“At the time, you’re kind of stuck in a deep darkness, sitting there thinking like, ‘OK, what do I do here?’ You’ve got to think about what you did wrong, will it affect your future, and obviously it went through my mind,” Russell said. “But I kind of knew that at the end of the day, I just had to do what I did to get to where I’m at now.”

Russell made it back and starred, which impressed Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who noted that Russell was the only one of the four players who were suspended to make it back to an active role at Notre Dame.

“Those guys who have been through so much, they appreciate the opportunity, so when you’re kind of looking at the part where don’t know if you’re gonna play, I think that’s special for them,” Reid said of Russell’s reaction to being drafted. “You could tell he was pretty excited.”

Reid noted that Russell knows he was in the wrong for the academic situation and “got himself straightened out.”

“(Notre Dame) coach (Brian Kelly) has a lot of trust in him,” Reid said. “Four (Notre Dame) kids went through the same thing, and he’s the only one of the bunch that came back. That says a lot about him.”

“I would put him at a red-level, A-score guy, meaning that he has a lot of (physical) attributes that are really good,” Dorsey said. “You combine that with his toughness, his competitiveness ... any guy that can fight through a stress fracture and play through that and practice through that on a daily basis is pretty mentally tough to me.”

Russell played multiple cornerback positions at Notre Dame, including nickel, and is looking forward to join a secondary that includes Marcus Peters.

“I met Marcus Peters a few times because he went to the University of Washington and I’m from Seattle, so I kind of already know him a little bit,” Russell said. “I think I’m more athletic, as far as the jumping and running, but he has great size and length and is a very aggressive, sound tackler and he’s a great athlete, as well … he’s great when the ball in the air. He has flawless ball skills.

“It’s going to be great to have me and him and the rest of the guys in the secondary, man. I think it’s going to be a special group of guys.”

On Friday, Russell was more concerned with enjoying the moment, one he had been waiting to celebrate with his family and friend for a long time.

“Everybody went crazy, man,” Russell said, referring again to the moment he got the call from the Chiefs. “Everybody went crazy.”

tussin · Apr 30, 2016

I am really pulling for Russell in the pros. He's not my style, but seems like a good dude with sincere intentions.

Bogtrotter07 · Apr 30, 2016

Me too.

There is something magnetic about his journey . . .

CanadalovesND · Apr 30, 2016

KeiVarae Rusell: Ready to Play Next to Peters

BeauBenken · Apr 30, 2016

I didn't know Kei was the first in his family to graduate high school, the first to go to college, and he will be the first to get a college degree...from the freaking UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME.

Damn, Kei. Your family must be beyond proud of you. Good luck in your NFL career. (I think Kei could be a multi-year Pro Bowler.)

Irish YJ · Apr 30, 2016

Will be interesting to see how he does. If he balls out, what does that say about BVG's scheme... lol.

johnnycando · Apr 30, 2016

Irish YJ said:
Will be interesting to see how he does. If he balls out, what does that say about BVG's scheme... lol.

I mean, I think that says KVR didn't apply himself.

Irish YJ · Apr 30, 2016

johnnycando said:
I mean, I think that says KVR didn't apply himself.

The list of ND guys that didn't apply themselves grows everyday when it comes to our D.

johnnycando · Apr 30, 2016

Irish YJ said:
The list of ND guys that didn't apply themselves grows everyday when it comes to our D.

The list of gripey ND armchair D coordinators certainly shrinks yearly.

Veritate Duce Progredi · Apr 30, 2016

Irish YJ said:
Will be interesting to see how he does. If he balls out, what does that say about BVG's scheme... lol.

It'll say absolutely nothing since he had a year away from the game then he played with a stress fracture in his leg. It'll be refreshing to see him playing healthy and earning recognition in the league.

ShawneeIrish · Apr 30, 2016

I probably complained about KVR more than anyone, of course the Chiefs would draft him lol

calvegas04 · Apr 30, 2016

I think Farley had more INT's than Keivarae. I still remember everyone watching the spring videos last year and hearing the reports on him, only to see him get burned a bunch last season

Legacy · May 10, 2016

Rookie CB KeiVarae Russell's development a key storyline for Chiefs coming out of minicamp

ScooterIrish · May 13, 2016

calvegas04 said:
I think Farley had more INT's than Keivarae. I still remember everyone watching the spring videos last year and hearing the reports on him, only to see him get burned a bunch last season

Except for those times that he sealed up a few victories for us last season.

dublinirish · May 13, 2016

Being drafted by Kansas City Chiefs was emotional for KeiVarae Russell - Kansas City Chiefs Blog- ESPN

Legacy · May 23, 2016

dublinirish said:
Being drafted by Kansas City Chiefs was emotional for KeiVarae Russell - Kansas City Chiefs Blog- ESPN

From the article above:

"Just the accomplishment of being drafted and the fact that I haven't graduated just yet -- I have a semester left at the University of Notre Dame," said Russell, a third-round pick. "But the fact that I will be the first one to graduate from my family, I think that's where the emotion came from. I've accomplished something this big and the fact that no one in my family has graduated even from high school ... everybody dropped out of high school.

"To come from the circumstances I came from ... I lived in the projects, that same story everybody always talks about, not having a father, all this other stuff. So to come from those circumstances, there wasn't much around me as far as education I can go to, to look for: 'How do I be successful?'

"For me to accomplish the NFL, that's where that emotion came from. We really made it. This is crazy."

"I got overwhelmed and I let my laziness get to me at that point," he said of the plagiarism. "I went back to Notre Dame and did it the right way my senior year.

"It brought me back to reality. The reason why I'm in the NFL right now, I worked to get here. I have got to keep doing that. The last time I didn't work, the last time I took it easy, I got suspended. That kind of reassured me that if you want to be great, if you want all the aspirations that I've got, obviously pro football and all those, you've got to work for that. You can't just take the easy way out. You've got to put that extra work in that somebody may not. You can't just sit there like, 'OK, it's just going to come to me.' It won't come if you don't work. That's really what I learned throughout that process."

Today -- KeiVarae Russell doesn't have deal with Chiefs (yet), but does have one with Nike

Ironman8 · May 24, 2016

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dorsey is referring to something similar to SPARQ (<a href="https://twitter.com/zjwhitman">@zjwhitman</a>), as Russell's testing scores were very good. <a href="https://t.co/445Qa5vI3R">https://t.co/445Qa5vI3R</a></p>— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/735154017387618306">May 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NDdomer2 · May 24, 2016

Red level athlete is exceptional I'm assuming, never heard that term nefore

Rizzophil · Sep 14, 2016

Released after week one as a third round pick.

If anyone gets the scoop, please share. Can't just be a numbers game.

Henges24 · Sep 14, 2016

Rizzophil said:
Released after week one as a third round pick.

If anyone gets the scoop, please share. Can't just be a numbers game.

Wow. That's very disheartening.

IrishLion · Sep 14, 2016

Rizzophil said:
Released after week one as a third round pick.

If anyone gets the scoop, please share. Can't just be a numbers game.

"Special Teams numbers game" is the popular Tweet, but that seems strange.

If there's nothing serious going on, the Bengals should give him a look. They're thin at CB right now.

House16 · Sep 14, 2016

Wow. Third round picks almost never get released before at least a couple years.

IrishGlory · Sep 14, 2016

Maybe the Redskins can sign him. Need all the defensive help we can get.

'12 WA RB Keivarae Russell (Notre Dame Signed LOI)

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