2009 SWAC HALL OF FAME: Willie Alexander
SWAC.org
Dec. 5, 2009
(This is the first in a series profiling the 2009 SWAC Hall of Fame inductees.)
By Roscoe Nance
Special to SWAC.org
Willie Alexander more than held his own while going head to head against many of the all-time great pass receivers in SWAC football history when he played defensive back at Alcorn State in the late 1960s.
Yet Alexander, one of six athletes who will be inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame Friday in Birmingham, Ala., never thought of himself as being one of the conference's all-time greats.
"This is an honor that is beyond belief,'' Alexander says. "I played against the Harold Jacksons, Charlie Joiners and Harold Carmichaels of the world. Then to be thought of as a player on their level, it is just an honor that makes me very humble.''
Alexander - 6-2 and 165 when he arrived at Alcorn State and 205 when he graduated in 1971 - was a lockdown cornerback before the term was ever invented, and he loved to hit, which made him well suited to play strong safety too.
Marino "The Godfather'' Casem, a Hall Famer who coached at Alcorn State when Alexander played for the Braves and later at Southern University, says Alexander's ability to play anywhere in the defensive secondary was vital to the Braves' success as they won three consecutive conference championship from 1968-70 and back-to-back Black College National Championships in '68 and '69, Casem says..
"He played all over the place,'' Casem says. "With his height and the ground he covered, he was the perfect free safety,'' Casem says. "He was the perfect strong safety, and he could play corner. He always had the other team's star receiver. Whoever was their key player was, in some way we were going to tie Willie to him.''
Alexander attributes his success at Alcorn State, and later in the NFL, to his penchant for studying his opponents.
"I approach everything from an academic standpoint,'' says Alexander, who played nine seasons in the NFL with Houston Oilers and still lives in Houston where he owns
WJ Alexander and Associates, an employee benefits consulting firm.
"It's not about being the fastest or the strongest. It's about combining strength, speed and intelligence. Put together, that made me who I am. As I watched film, I observed everything the opponent did. I had an idea what they would do. I learned at Alcorn players are creatures of habit. They do the same thing all the time, and they don't realize it. I had a leg up on them.''
Alexander says his best memory from his playing days at Alcorn State is the 1968 National Championship team. As a sophomore, his biggest contributions were on special teams. However, he says just watching his teammates dominate opponents made that season special for him.
"Just watching and being associated with my teammates, I was awed and mesmerized by their talent,'' Alexander says. "Watching (cornerback) David Hadley shut down opponents and knock them out and Marvin Weeks at quarterback (defensive tackle) Mad Dog Joe Owens take on two blockers and still make the tackle was something special.''
Alexander says no one could have convinced him that he would cherish his time at Alcorn State as much as he does when arrived on campus as freshman from Montgomery, Ala.
"It was a culture shock,'' says Alexander, who signed with Alcorn State sight unseen because of his mother's high regard for an assistant coach on Alexander's high school team whose brother-in-law was an assistant Alcorn. "It's a beautiful place, but it took a little getting used to. It's so far back up in the woods.''
His mother's parting words when he left Montgomery - "Willie James, don't forget you're going to get a degree'' - prevented Alexander from leaving.
Alexander says there were many nights that he cried in his pillow and prayed, "Dear Lord, please help me get my degree, play football and get out of here.''
He says when it came time for him to leave in 1971, he didn't want to go.
Alexander credits Casem and assistant coaches Theo Danzy, who recruited him, and James Brooks, for his growth as a football player and a person.
Those were the guys who made who I am today,'' Alexander says. "I came to Alcorn a boy and left a man. I wouldn't be without them.