Qua Russaw is always making his coach Christian Robinson sneak out of meetings. Russaw frequently wants to meet with the Alabama football outside linebackers coach. Robinson loves that about the redshirt freshman edge rusher.

There’s one meeting in particular that stands out.

During that sit down, Russaw talked about the time he got hurt in high school. He shared during the time he was hurt, how much he missed football. That offered a shift in perspective when Russaw returned to the field.

“He’s preparing as if it’s going away,” Robinson said Wednesday. “He’s trying to make sure he’s doing everything he can right now.”

That showed Saturday. Russaw got the start at the Wolf spot, which is essentially an edge rusher in Kane Wommack’s “Swarm” defense. And Russaw made the most of the opportunity after he didn’t see playing time a season ago for the defense.

He received the most snaps of any Wolf against Western Kentucky, and looked explosive off the edge. He tallied two pressures, per Pro Football Focus, over 30 snaps. Russaw also tallied four tackles, one for loss.

It was not a large sample size, but he looked like some of the elite pass rushers of late who have played for Alabama football. Russaw looked like he has the tools to be the next one.

“Everybody is seeing what I think everybody has seen here in practice for about a year,” Robinson said. “He’s taken a huge step in terms of his understanding of overall football.”

Alabama needs an X-factor on the edge. It really wasn’t clear who it would be coming into the season. Recently, there was a clear successor. After Will Anderson Jr. rose up, then it was Dallas Turner’s turn. Both went on to be first round selections in the NFL Draft.

Que Robinson is the elder statesman of the group. But he wasn’t a starter on defense in 2023. He also could be a contender for Alabama’s next top pass rusher considering he had four pressures and a sack on Saturday. But Russaw has the pedigree as a former five-star prospect, and he showed he’s at the top of the pecking order considering he got the start over Robinson and played the most snaps in the season opener.

“(Russaw) has really, even since I’ve been here, I’ve seen him just grow in his effort,” said offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic. “His ability to put together some combinations of pass rush moves. Play physical against the run game. It’s been really good to see, sometimes painful to see because he’s beating one of my guys, but it’s been good to see his growth as well.”

Russaw will need to string together more strong performances before he earns the crown of Alabama’s next elite pass rusher, but he’s off to a solid start if the Western Kentucky game is any indication.

“Physically, we use the term freak around here, but when you talk about him, that guy is truly freaky in terms of his strength and athleticism and speed,” Wommack said. “He is starting to play with that confidence that we need out of that position.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.