"I never de-committed from Mississippi State. When things changed with the coaching staff and Coach (Sylvester) Croom resigned, I had so much other stuff going on. When I met (new head) Coach (Dan) Mullen the first time, I couldn't say 100 percent that's what I wanted to do because he didn't have an offensive coordinator. But when I met Coach Les (Koenning) today, he was a really cool guy."
...
"He was just a really cool guy to be around," said Russell. "What I really liked was the three things that he lives by: God, family and job and in that order. Mississippi State just feels right. I always said that God would lead me down the right path. I feel like He is leading me there and I feel like everything is going to work."
Looks like Brother Koenning is already earning his keep.