Jefferson product Russell commits to Colgate

Posted Jan 26, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 26, 2012 at 11:49 AM

Demetrius Russell, Jefferson’s leading rusher on its 2010 state championship squad, has made a verbal commitment to Colgate University following a one-year stint at The Taft School, Dragons head coach Jeremy Earle announced Thursday.

After graduating Jefferson last spring, Russell enrolled at Taft, a private, coeducational prep school in Watertown, Conn., that looks as it was pulled straight out of the Harry Potter books. Last fall, Russell was a senior member of Taft’s football squad, which plays in the Class A New England prep school conference. Taft has been known to help feed student-athletes to standout academic colleges like Colgate, which plays in the Football Championship Series and, unlike Ivy League schools, offers athletic aid.

“Demetrius really deserves this because even though he is naturally smart, he worked at it,” Earle said. “He was always a guy who set a great example and someone who was an unsung hero on that football team. His intellect had a lot to do with it because he understood what it took to be a leader and an athlete.”

En route to the Dragons’ Class 3A state championship, Russell rushed for 1,351 yards and 16 touchdowns. In the state title game against Miami Norland, he produced 133 yards and a key third-quarter TD that put Jefferson up 44-21 heading into the fourth quarter.

“If there was an offensive MVP for us in that game, it was Demtrius,” Earle said. “He helped us control the game and was consistently getting us the yards we needed.”

Photos: Demetrius Russell in action against Land O’Lakes his junior season and an aerial picture of The Taft School in Watertown, Conn., where Russell is attending the prep school prior to enrolling at Colgate this fall.