He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, earning consensus All-American honors and winning the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in America.
As a senior in 1996, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and won the Butkus Award as the nation's best college linebacker after posting a career-high 137 tackles.
[5] He played in fourteen regular season games for the Lions in 1997 and earned all-rookie honors along his college teammate Rae Carruth.
Russell spent the 2000 season as a graduate assistant coach for Colorado, helping to instruct the Buffaloes’ linebackers.
Since his ascension to director of player personnel in 2012, the Broncos overhauled the majority of their roster, developing depth and competition through free agency and the draft.
On May 11, 2022, Russell was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles to serve as a senior personnel executive in the scouting department.