Alexander the Grrrr-EEAATT!!!
Published: 11/23/2011 3:43 PM
Last Modified: 11/23/2011 3:43 PM
NORMAN — After the Sooners’ first two defensive series of the Baylor game, I posted on Twitter (@johnehoover) that defensive end Frank Alexander was playing like a man 10 feet tall and 500 pounds.
On the Bears’ first drive alone, Alexander had drawn a holding penalty that wiped out an 80-yard touchdown on Baylor’s second play, tackled Robert Griffin for a loss of 2 on the next play, tackled Terrance Ganaway for a loss of 4 two plays later, buried Griffin at the end of an incomplete pass six plays after that and tackled Tevin Reese for a loss of 6 to force a punt.
On the Bears’ next drive, Alexander sacked Griffin for a loss of 7, then helped chase Griffin into another incompletion on second down.
An old cliché is that Alexander apparently ate his Wheaties. On Monday night at the Switzer Center, I jokingly asked if he added a little Cap’n Crunch.
“Nah,” he said. “Actually, I had some Frosted Flakes.”
You know. Because they're "Grrrr-EEAATT!!!" Just like Frank Alexander.
Before every game, Alexander writes “GoG” on his wrist tape. That’s “Good or Great.”
“Either you be ‘Good’ or do you want to be ‘Great.’ That’s what I’ll be thinking about during the game,” Alexander said. “You can either be good or be great. Just give every play your all.”
Baylor got smart and started sending extra blockers to deal with Alexander, sometimes a running back, sometimes a tight end, sometimes a guard. Bear coaches also told Griffin to start using play-action fakes on just about every passing play (“a lot more play action,” Alexander said) to slow Alexander’s relentless pursuit.
“Play-action kinda slows you down,” Alexander said. “Because you’re like, ‘OK, gotta check for the run, and now I gotta get back for the pass.’ Kinda slows you down a little bit.”
Alexander has been OU’s best defender this season, the Sooners’ most productive big-play producer. He’s easily the team’s best All-American candidate now that Ryan Broyles is out.
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said the change in Alexander from last season to this season has been dramatic.
“It’s as big, if not bigger, than anyone we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Venables said.
“When he got in here as a freshman, he did some good things. Then he had a couple years of being banged up and maybe a bit disinterested. I don’t wanna speak for him. But as a coach you always have a feel for who’s really investing. Sometimes when you’re not the guy, that tends to happen. How you handle your failures is a big part of it too.
“That being said, he’s been night and day, obviously.”
Alexander, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior, is now being noticed by NFL scouts. Big, strong, instinctive, disruptive, aggressive and smart, now he’s adding a new adjective: driven. He’s also starting to leave a legacy.
“I think Frank’s done a good job of coming in and being that leader that Jeremy Beal was,” said junior David King. “With this being his last year, I know he wanted to make it something special. So his worth ethic and how he approaches film, how he approaches practice, it’s something I kind of look up to. Like, ‘Oh, Frank’s having this great year, so maybe if I change my ways a little bit, I can be productive just as he is this year.’
“Week-in, week-out, that’s been his mentality. He’s what, one of the leading sack-getters in the Big 12, tackles for losses in the Big 12. So he’s been really, really productive this season. Like I said earlier this year, I’m glad it’s happening in his last year. He’s setting himself up for success.”
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
