[3] He committed to play college football for Notre Dame on December 29, 2011, over offers from California, USC and hometown Washington.
[4] Sources: In his first year, Russell was moved from running back to cornerback following a season-ending injury to incumbent starter Lo Wood.
He recorded 58 tackles, including two for loss, and two interceptions, and was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.
On August 14, 2014, the University of Notre Dame announced that they were investigating suspected academic dishonesty on the part of several students, including members of the football team; Russell along with DaVaris Daniels, Kendall Moore, and Ishaq Williams were those named in the investigation, with another player, Eilar Hardy, named a few weeks later.
[10] He finished his season with 60 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and six pass deflections.
On January 4, 2016, Russell announced he would forgo his remaining eligibility at Notre Dame and enter the 2016 NFL draft.
Although he was invited to the NFL Combine, he was unable to perform any workouts or drills, besides the bench press, due to a leg injury.
Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid explained the waiving of Russell, stating that he was unable to get comfortable with the defensive scheme, didn't stand out during training camp and preseason, and was unable to climb the Chiefs' depth chart.
[19] In Week 17 against the Ravens, on his first career snap on defense, Russell intercepted Ryan Mallett on a deep pass intended for Breshad Perriman.