Why dontavius russell will play his senior season

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Dontavius Russell explains decision to return to Auburn for senior seasons

Updated 8:57 AM; Posted 9:00 AM

Auburn defensive lineman Dontavius Russell (95) celebrates after sacking Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm (11) during the first half of the SEC Championship Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)(Julie Bennett)

 

 

 

 

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By Tom Green

tgreen@al.com

One word came to mind when Kevin Steele heard the news.

When defensive tackle Dontavius Russell announced on Christmas that he would return for his senior season and pass on the NFL Draft for the time being, Auburn's defensive coordinator was relieved. One of the staples of the Tigers' defensive line for the last three seasons would be there for a fourth.

"That he decided to come back, that's a huge thing," Steele said Friday. "At the level he's playing at and what he does for us down in and down out, I have to honestly say that it would've been a challenge to replace that."

Russell has started at defensive tackle for Auburn the last three seasons. He enters the Peach Bowl with 41 total tackles, a career-high 6.5 tackles for loss and a career-best three sacks to go along with five quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.

The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder considered turning pro early, and he filled out paperwork for the NFL Draft Advisory Board to see whether he should return or declare early. That process now tells players whether they're projected as a first-round pick or they should return to school. For Russell, the verdict was return to school, but he did his due diligence and spoke to other sources to see what he should do.

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All the feedback he got, he said, was about what he expected. While he didn't specify where those sources projected him being selected, Walter Football had him as a potential fourth-round pick.

Still, there was an underlying reason for wanting to return in 2018.

"I didn't get any late rounds," Russell said. "It was just a situation where it was like -- like I said, I just wanted to complete my degree. I didn't get anything I felt was wrong or anything like that."

Russell is a semester away from earning his degree, needing just two classes in the spring to graduate. Earning that piece of paper was the biggest reason for wanting to return for his senior season.

"When you first come to college, it's always about being a student-athlete," Russell said. "With the bit of success I've had while playing college football, I didn't want that narrative to change. I wanted to assure that I was able to complete my degree before I decided to move forward and all that different type of stuff."

For Russell, the decision came down to this: Which "reward" can be attained first: his degree, or an NFL career?

"The degree will happen within the coming months, so I figured I'd take care of that," he said. "I don't lose football either way, so that's where I was at."

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Then there's, as Steele put it, the strictly football perspective, as Auburn now brings back one of its quiet leaders up front whom "everybody respects him for the fact that he does his job every day at a high level," according to Steele.

Russell's return will bolster Auburn's defensive line in 2018. The Tigers have the potential to return all of their starters and rotation players along the line, with Buck defensive end Jeff Holland still facing a similar decision as Russell with whether to declare early or return.

With the possibility of returning that core, Russell sees big things in store for Auburn's defense next season.

"I feel like we have a really good defensive line, and if you can keep that intact, I feel like we can perform the same," Russell said. "I don't see anybody having a drop-off or anything like that. Like I said, I've been a starter for three years, and to come back and be a mainstay on the defensive line again is something I feel like will be beneficial to this Auburn football team."

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[JDUBB4AU 5,366]

Classy young man . Absolutely a huge problem for opposing teams . Super stoked he is back. This gives not only him more time to develop, but the young DTs behind him a chance as well. He is only going to get better