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The senior at Flathead High School wrestled his way to four top-six finishes at state, and was a finalist twice; he gave track and field a shot last spring and ended up sixth at the State AA meet in the javelin.

But it might be football that shines the brightest light on Russell, who in 2017 was a junior varsity player of little import. Two years later he’s a two-time, All-State, undersized (175 pounds) defensive end. With a 4.0 grade-point average and a plan to head to the Naval Academy, the gridiron is where he seemed to take off.

“I was pretty small my sophomore year, and I kind of got overlooked,” said Russell, who had his freshman football season curtailed by a collarbone injury. “I was about 150 pounds – I played linebacker at the time. There were bigger kids in front of me.”

There were bigger kids on the defensive line, too, obviously.

“I told the coaches, let me try it – it’s only JV, what’s the worst that could happen?” he recalled. “I had a couple sacks, a couple fumbles. The next year came around, I gained 20 pounds and – I started playing a little bit more, I guess you could say.”

“We knew he was going to be able to play for us (as a junior) just because of his work in the weight room,” Flathead coach Matt Upham said. “And what really showed was when we were out at camp, and he dominated our offense.”

And yet.

“At the very beginning I was splitting playing time, because I had four 6-foot-4, 220-pound kids in front of me – all great athletes,” Russell said. “Then we were playing Billings West at home and they weren’t doing what they were supposed to. When I got out there I got a couple sacks and did what I was supposed to do. It all kind of started there.”

In came Russell, who occupied blocks when he had to, shed them when he wanted and started making plays.

That game ended with a 41-20 loss. The season ended with a 20-14 setback to those same West Golden Bears, in the State AA championship. Flathead’s season ended in a goal-line stand by West.

Russell, meanwhile, ended up first-team All-State that season, and then again this past fall. In two years he piled up 24.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, four fumbles forced and six recovered.

The numbers don’t tell you everything.

“He could hold a 250-pound offensive lineman at the line of scrimmage with his hands because his pad level was so good,” Upham said. “And he’s so freakin’ strong. Great technique. He just did everything he was supposed to.”

Upham harkens back to the 2018 game against Missoula Sentinel, where Russell announced his presence early and often in a 34-31 Flathead win.

“He played every position on the line that night – defensive end to nose guard to tackle,” Upham said. “He dominated the game, had a couple sacks and a fumble.

“From that forward we knew what we had, that he was going to be special. And he just continually got better as the season went on.”

Other coaches noticed, like Sentinel’s Dean Oliver.

“When they made the title game, he was kind of the key cog,” Oliver said. “Even last year playing them, you’re just aware. He was a game-wrecker.”

The saying starts, “Fool me once, shame on you.”… And last fall Oliver’s Spartans prevailed 42-0.

“Our whole offensive game plan was not letting Tanner Russell beat us,” Oliver said. “We did some things like throwing flare passes over the top. We essentially ran plays where nobody blocked him. Because you couldn’t.”

The highlight of Flathead’s two-win 2019 campaign was a 13-9 win at Helena High in which Russell played running back and tore off runs of 37 and 61 yards on his way to 203 yards on 26 carries.

He kind of chuckles about it now.

“Watch any of my film – I was definitely not a running back,” he said. “I was running in the open with both arms on the ball. But I ran hard – pumped the legs.”

No – he was a defensive end wreaking havoc on one side while Ganon Welder or Paxton Boyce did their damage on the other. Russell’s efforts landed him a spot on the Knights of Columbus Badlands Bowl with North Dakota, scheduled for June 27.

Former Carroll College offensive coordinator Nick Hallett possibly made sure of it.

“(Hallet) is a guy I played for at Carroll,” said Upham, who played for the Saints 2010-13. “Nick called me personally to tell me he wanted Tanner. I said, ‘That’s a great pick.’”

Fall turned to winter and another set of dizzying statistics. Russell leaves as Flathead wrestling’s all-time leader in wins with 155. He also holds the single-season record for pins with 36.

He went 42-8 his senior year with a vast majority – six or seven – of the losses coming to Missoula Big Sky’s Bridger Hall. That included a fall in the 171-pound state finals.

“He and I have a history,” said Russell, though that was his first meeting with Hall at a state meet. “My freshman and sophomore years I’d pin him. This year … he got really good. I’m glad he accomplished what he did.”

Asked if he thought about cutting to a lower weight, Russell demurs. “There were tough kids down there as well,” he said. “And I’d beaten Bridger Hall before.”

“You love those guys, too, that put team first,” said wrestling coach Jeff Thompson, whose Brave Brawlers finished second at state. “One thing I think is special here is the football coaches pushed their kids towards wrestling. The philosophy right now for so many high school athletes is to specialize. Tanner is good at four sports. Maybe his best sports is rugby, which is just crazy.

“In the spring and summer I’d encourage him to get on the mat a little more – but I also felt so fortunate to have such a well-rounded athlete.”

After the 2018 Sentinel game Flathead product Dylan McFarland – McFarland and Oliver had been Montana Grizzlies teammates – pointed out that Oliver knew Russell’s dad, Ron.

“I was blown away that I was old enough to coach against the kid of someone I went to college with,” Oliver said.

Ron Russell is a Marine; Tanner Russell wants to be a Marine aviator. The plan now is attend the Northwestern Preparatory School in California for a semester this fall, then spend another semester at Flathead Valley Community College.

“For the most part I’ve been accepted (to the Naval Academy),” he said. “I’ve got to get a little bit smarter, a little bit bigger before I got to the big school.

“My ACT scores aren’t quite there – I have a 4.0 GPA but I don’t score 30s on the ACT.”

He’s been told he can make the 75-person Navy rugby team if he puts on some weight. From a mandated distance, it’s hard to see anything that would block him.

“He holds his head high, chin up. Even after a loss,” Thompson said. “That’s the kind of guy I want fighting for our country I’ll tell you that. He’s a tough dude.”

As Tanner Russell pushes toward another goal – flying a Hornet or Sea King, maybe – it would serve to take stock of his determination.

The senior at Flathead High School wrestled his way to four top-six finishes at state, and was a finalist twice; he gave track and field a shot last spring and ended up sixth at the State AA meet in the javelin.

But it might be football that shines the brightest light on Russell, who in 2017 was a junior varsity player of little import. Two years later he’s a two-time, All-State, undersized (175 pounds) defensive end. With a 4.0 grade-point average and a plan to head to the Naval Academy, the gridiron is where he seemed to take off.

“I was pretty small my sophomore year, and I kind of got overlooked,” said Russell, who had his freshman football season curtailed by a collarbone injury. “I was about 150 pounds – I played linebacker at the time. There were bigger kids in front of me.”

There were bigger kids on the defensive line, too, obviously.

“I told the coaches, let me try it – it’s only JV, what’s the worst that could happen?” he recalled. “I had a couple sacks, a couple fumbles. The next year came around, I gained 20 pounds and – I started playing a little bit more, I guess you could say.”

“We knew he was going to be able to play for us (as a junior) just because of his work in the weight room,” Flathead coach Matt Upham said. “And what really showed was when we were out at camp, and he dominated our offense.”

And yet.

“At the very beginning I was splitting playing time, because I had four 6-foot-4, 220-pound kids in front of me – all great athletes,” Russell said. “Then we were playing Billings West at home and they weren’t doing what they were supposed to. When I got out there I got a couple sacks and did what I was supposed to do. It all kind of started there.”

In came Russell, who occupied blocks when he had to, shed them when he wanted and started making plays.

That game ended with a 41-20 loss. The season ended with a 20-14 setback to those same West Golden Bears, in the State AA championship. Flathead’s season ended in a goal-line stand by West.

Russell, meanwhile, ended up first-team All-State that season, and then again this past fall. In two years he piled up 24.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, four fumbles forced and six recovered.

The numbers don’t tell you everything.

“He could hold a 250-pound offensive lineman at the line of scrimmage with his hands because his pad level was so good,” Upham said. “And he’s so freakin’ strong. Great technique. He just did everything he was supposed to.”

Upham harkens back to the 2018 game against Missoula Sentinel, where Russell announced his presence early and often in a 34-31 Flathead win.

“He played every position on the line that night – defensive end to nose guard to tackle,” Upham said. “He dominated the game, had a couple sacks and a fumble.

“From that forward we knew what we had, that he was going to be special. And he just continually got better as the season went on.”

Other coaches noticed, like Sentinel’s Dean Oliver.

“When they made the title game, he was kind of the key cog,” Oliver said. “Even last year playing them, you’re just aware. He was a game-wrecker.”

The saying starts, “Fool me once, shame on you.”… And last fall Oliver’s Spartans prevailed 42-0.

“Our whole offensive game plan was not letting Tanner Russell beat us,” Oliver said. “We did some things like throwing flare passes over the top. We essentially ran plays where nobody blocked him. Because you couldn’t.”

The highlight of Flathead’s two-win 2019 campaign was a 13-9 win at Helena High in which Russell played running back and tore off runs of 37 and 61 yards on his way to 203 yards on 26 carries.

He kind of chuckles about it now.

“Watch any of my film – I was definitely not a running back,” he said. “I was running in the open with both arms on the ball. But I ran hard – pumped the legs.”

No – he was a defensive end wreaking havoc on one side while Ganon Welder or Paxton Boyce did their damage on the other. Russell’s efforts landed him a spot on the Knights of Columbus Badlands Bowl with North Dakota, scheduled for June 27.

Former Carroll College offensive coordinator Nick Hallett possibly made sure of it.

“(Hallet) is a guy I played for at Carroll,” said Upham, who played for the Saints 2010-13. “Nick called me personally to tell me he wanted Tanner. I said, ‘That’s a great pick.’”

Fall turned to winter and another set of dizzying statistics. Russell leaves as Flathead wrestling’s all-time leader in wins with 155. He also holds the single-season record for pins with 36.

He went 42-8 his senior year with a vast majority – six or seven – of the losses coming to Missoula Big Sky’s Bridger Hall. That included a fall in the 171-pound state finals.

“He and I have a history,” said Russell, though that was his first meeting with Hall at a state meet. “My freshman and sophomore years I’d pin him. This year … he got really good. I’m glad he accomplished what he did.”

Asked if he thought about cutting to a lower weight, Russell demurs. “There were tough kids down there as well,” he said. “And I’d beaten Bridger Hall before.”

“You love those guys, too, that put team first,” said wrestling coach Jeff Thompson, whose Brave Brawlers finished second at state. “One thing I think is special here is the football coaches pushed their kids towards wrestling. The philosophy right now for so many high school athletes is to specialize. Tanner is good at four sports. Maybe his best sports is rugby, which is just crazy.

“In the spring and summer I’d encourage him to get on the mat a little more – but I also felt so fortunate to have such a well-rounded athlete.”

After the 2018 Sentinel game Flathead product Dylan McFarland – McFarland and Oliver had been Montana Grizzlies teammates – pointed out that Oliver knew Russell’s dad, Ron.

“I was blown away that I was old enough to coach against the kid of someone I went to college with,” Oliver said.

Ron Russell is a Marine; Tanner Russell wants to be a Marine aviator. The plan now is attend the Northwestern Preparatory School in California for a semester this fall, then spend another semester at Flathead Valley Community College.

“For the most part I’ve been accepted (to the Naval Academy),” he said. “I’ve got to get a little bit smarter, a little bit bigger before I got to the big school.

“My ACT scores aren’t quite there – I have a 4.0 GPA but I don’t score 30s on the ACT.”

He’s been told he can make the 75-person Navy rugby team if he puts on some weight. From a mandated distance, it’s hard to see anything that would block him.

“He holds his head high, chin up. Even after a loss,” Thompson said. “That’s the kind of guy I want fighting for our country I’ll tell you that. He’s a tough dude.”