Trevor Russell

Wide receiver Trevor Russell of the Gila River Hawks junior college football team has committed to play for the Louisiana-Lafayette football team, he announced via Twitter on Friday.

“There been a lot of sleepless nights through this journey, but God has set out a plan for me,” Russell said in his Tweet. “Thank you to everyone who has kept faith in me and never given up. My recruitment is OFFICIALLY closed. I’m going to be a Ragin Cajun and play ball at Louisiana Lafayette.”

Russell, a 5-foot-10, 186-pounder, was a walk-on with the Arizona State football team in 2017. The Casa Grande, Arizona, native went on to Gila River, a member of the Hohokam Junior College Athletic Conference. At Casa Grande Union High School he had three 1,000-yard receiving seasons and earned All-State honors as a senior.

The news is the latest recruiting development for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who saw linebacker Jasper Williams and quarterback Zy McDonald both commit over the past week.

On May 1, Williams, a 6-2, 210-pound linebacker at East Mississippi Community College, announced via Twitter that he had committed to UL Lafayette. Williams also had offers from Akron, Arkansas State, Liberty and UL Monroe. The Grenada High (Mississippi) product was originally committed to ULM and academically qualified after high school, Williams told The Advocate, but said he was late to respond to the offer from the Warhawks and his spot was taken, and opted to play in junior college. As a freshman at EMCC he had 51 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

“I would like to thank God for each & every blessing he has given me,” Williams said in his Tweet. “I would also like to thank family & friends who have helped me come down with this decision. I will not be fully shutting down my recruitment but for the time being I will be committing to The University of Louisiana at Lafayette!!!”

Then on Monday, McDonald, a 5-10, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback from Ridgeland (Mississippi) High School committed to sign with the Cajuns for the class of 2021. McDonald is the nephew of former Ole Miss standout and New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame running back Deuce McAllister.

McDonald also had offers from Sun Belt Conference team Georgia State, Army, Navy and Jackson State. He threw for 3,252 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 610 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019. Ridgeland is a Class 5A team in the Jackson area. He transferred to the Pelahatchie Attendance Center in April.