He was supposed to win a championship.He was supposed to be the savior.He was supposed to go down as the greatest of all time.
He failed, and he only has himself to blame.
Former LSU and Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell has been facing these expectations since he signed his letter of intent to LSU in 2003.  And for the last seven years, Russell has attempted to skate by on his freakish natural ability. But his arrest Monday for illegal possession of codeine syrup is by far the biggest mistake on his laundry list of blunders since making his debut on LSU’s campus.
When he first arrived in Baton Rouge, he was a 6-foot-6, 260-pound mammoth of a man who could fire a football more than 60 yards while down on one knee. From the casual football fan’s perspective, one couldn’t ask for a better quarterback prototype than Russell.
He had it all.
But things don’t always go as planned. During his three years playing at LSU, Russell showed glimpses of greatness but patterns of inconsistency. He started three games in 2004 and was the full-time starter for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. As a starter, he led the Tigers to a 25-4 record. He threw for 6,625 yards and 52 touchdowns. But while the stat book showed him to be one of the most prolific passers to ever don the purple and gold, he also failed to produce the hardware LSU fans craved.In the 2005 Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia, Russell threw for a paltry 120 yards and an interception before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury. The Tigers lost, 34-13.The next season Russell failed to put the sixth-ranked Tigers in the end zone in a crushing 7-3 defeat to third-ranked Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Later in 2006, Russell lost a fumble on the one-yard line against Florida. The turnover cost the Tigers a chance to score and aided the Gators on to a 26-10 victory. LSU failed to reach the SEC championship game.
Following a stellar performance against an overmatched and under-coached Notre Dame squad in the Sugar Bowl, Russell declared for the NFL draft. He departed LSU without winning a championship.Despite his glaring inability to properly read a defense and perceived lack of general football knowledge, his physical skills were just too much for the Oakland Raiders to pass up with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Again, Russell was expected to be the face of an organization.
Again, he failed.
But this time he failed with fewer glimpses of greatness and more instances of buffoonery.
In three seasons with the Raiders, Russell completed 52.1 percent of his passes and threw 18 touchdowns compared to 23 interceptions while compiling an abysmal 7-18 record as a starter. He was regularly criticized for being lazy, out of shape and incapable of grasping the complexities of an NFL offense.
In the middle of the 2009 season, Russell was benched for backup Bruce Gradkowski and was released at the end of the season.
Russell was in talks to sign with the New York Jets before Monday’s gaffe.Now it is very likely the Mobile, Ala., native will not get another shot in the NFL. His moment in the sun may have come and gone before he truly got to relish it.
Russell had the ability to live up to the expectations placed upon him. He just didn’t have the drive. Now all he can do is sit back and wonder what could have been.
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]