Maurice Alexander (American football)

Maurice Alexander
No. 31 Los Angeles Rams
Position: Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: (1991-02-16) February 16, 1991
Place of birth: St. Louis, Missouri
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school: Eureka (MO)
College: Utah State
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 4 / Pick: 110
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2016
Total tackles: 60
Sacks: 3.0
Forced fumbles: 0
Fumble recoveries: 1
Interceptions: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Maurice Alexander (born February 16, 1991) is an American football safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona Western College and Utah State.[1]

Alexander was a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome during a year away from Utah State related to assault charges.

Early life

Alexander attended Eureka High School and was a two-time all-state football selection. He also participated in track and wrestling, finishing third in the Missouri wrestling championships.[2]

College career

Alexander attended Arizona Western College. In two seasons at Arizona Western, Alexander registered 179 tackles, 15 sacks and four interceptions.[2] He was a two-time all-conference selection in the Western States Football League and he was a first-team all-region honoree.[3]

Though he had played defensive end since high school, Alexander switched to linebacker when he transferred to Utah State University.[4] In early 2012, he got into a fight with a teammate after a party. The teammate, running back Joseph DeMartino, was knocked unconscious and required surgery for injuries to the face and eye.[5] Alexander was dismissed from the team. Facing a year in jail, he entered a guilty plea to reduced charges, receiving a one-year sentence with all but 45 days of it suspended.[6]

During his year away from college football, Alexander worked as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome. He returned to the team in 2013, moving to safety.[6] Utah State coach Matt Wells said, "In Maurice’s situation, he did everything from the legal standpoint and from the university standpoint, and internally, what we asked him to do. He fulfilled all those obligations and we've allowed him back in."[3] Upon his return, Alexander said, "I'm starving. I'm starving to get out there, I'm starving to make plays. I want to make every play. I'm greedy right now."[3] He started 13 games.[6] He received All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention honors.[7]

Professional career

He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in 2014, where he ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash.[7] He was drafted in the fourth round as the 110th pick overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Sportswriter Nick Wagoner said, "Were it not for the team's seventh-round choice of defensive end Michael Sam, Alexander's story might have been the best story of the draft's final day."[4]

In the second week of the 2014 season, Alexander made his NFL debut by playing on special teams. He did not earn any tackles or other statistics.[8] Overall, during his rookie season in 2014, Alexander played 9 games with 4 tackles. In 2015, Alexander played 14 games with 34 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass defended, and 1 fumble recovery.

References

  1. ↑ Rams draft defensive back Maurice Alexander 110th overall St. Louis Rams
  2. 1 2 "5 - Maurice Alexander". Utah State University. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Denniston, Wade (March 19, 2013). "Alexander grateful for second chance with Utah State". The Herald Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Wagoner, Nick. "Searching for Alexander's safety spot". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ Morgan, Emiley (July 31, 2012). "Ex-USU football player Maurice Alexander sentenced to jail for hitting teammate". Deseret News. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Schwartz, Nick (May 10, 2014). "St. Louis Rams draft player who used to work as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome". USAToday.com. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Hartwell, Darren (May 11, 2014). "Rams draft Utah State safety who used to be Edward Jones Dome janitor". Fox Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  8. ↑ Wagoner, Nick (September 16, 2014). "Rams rookie review: Week 2". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
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