Russell, who owns the Colorado Mesa football team's record for career tackles, is one of two former Maverick athletes to be enshrined in the Colorado Mesa Hall of Honor. He and former volleyball setter Jordyn Moody will be recognized during Homecoming activities throughout the weekend, and be introduced at halftime of the football game between the Mavericks and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday at Stocker Stadium.
He learned of his Hall of Honor election in a unique way, which triggered his memory bank. His wife, Sharah, called him at work on a Friday a couple of months ago to tell him they were going to dinner that night with his parents. When he asked why, she responded that they had heard good things about a new restaurant and wanted to try it out. Since then, I've been kind of thinking back on those days and what an amazing time it was. It was so much fun. A linebacker, Russell finished his career with total tackles, a record that still stands 20 years later.
The man in the middle of the defense of the Mavericks' RMAC championship run as a junior in was part of a team that just worked. Russell ranks second in career unassisted tackles and is first in assisted tackles We all did our own duties, whatever we needed to do, and we were unstoppable because of it. There were so many people doing the right things that they couldn't stop us all. That team lost only twice, to the same team, Central Oklahoma.
The Mavericks opened the season with a loss in Edmond, Okla. Russell recorded tackles that season, which ranks sixth in a single season. The following season he had tackles, third all-time in one season on a team that went I think some of the guys had blisters on the bottom of their feet and we poured water on our cleats just to cool our feet. It was just the opposite in November when the teams met in the playoffs β a winter storm the day before necessitated the field to be cleared of snow.
We battled; we battled to the end. That was the blizzard year, too, so we start out at the hottest game ever and we ended up, they had to clear the field. The night before it probably snowed a foot, maybe a little less than that, but they cleared the field and it was a frozen tundra for that last game. Russell, who is now an operations manager for an environmental consulting firm and helps run Russell Cattle Company with the rest of his family, recalls how his persona would change on game days.
