As Mackensie Alexander absorbed the South Florida warmth and humidity for a 3rd coaching camp follow with the Miami Dolphins this week, he was reminded on Thursday of the onerous work he needed to endure each working along with his mother and father in his youth and as a highschool soccer standout in Immokalee in comparable situations.
Alexander and his twin brother, Mackenro, gathered the whole lot from oranges to tomatoes on the fields of the agricultural Florida city simply southeast of Fort Myers for his working-class mother and father, who have been Haitian immigrants. It was commonplace for Alexander to need to get up at 4 or 5 a.m. to spend the morning on the fields earlier than preparing for college.
It motivated him to see soccer as a approach out of that life-style, and he made essentially the most of his alternatives at Immokalee High, changing into a five-star recruit that performed for Clemson and ultimately turned a second-round decide of the Minnesota Vikings within the 2016 NFL draft.
Spending 5 of his six seasons with the Vikings and 2020 with the Cincinnati Bengals, Alexander was out there as a free agent this week when the Dolphins wanted a cornerback following Trill Williams’ placement on season-ending injured reserve. Already dwelling in South Florida within the offseason, the state of affairs lined up completely for Alexander to signal with the Dolphins.
“It’s an amazing opportunity. I love it,” he mentioned, sweating profusely as he spoke with reporters following Thursday’s drills. “I’m back home. I’m excited. My family’s excited. My friends are excited. I’m like an hour away from home, so this is amazing. I’m happy. I’m enjoying this.”
Alexander is again within the area the place he first made his mark as a soccer recruit. He was rated the 2013 class’ No. 4 cornerback prospect, in accordance with the 247 Sports composite rankings, at Immokalee.
“In South Florida, it’s talent,” mentioned Alexander, who recollects masking NFL wideout Sammy Watkins at South Fort Myers High earlier than they turned Clemson teammates for a yr. “You’re going against top guys in the league. I went against a bunch of receivers that went to D-I ball or, a lot of them, that are in the league right now.”
Playing in South Florida, Alexander had two of his best workforce achievements of his profession, one in highschool and one in school. Both concerned his groups reaching a championship recreation. His Clemson Tigers defeated Oklahoma within the 2015 season’s Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal at Hard Rock Stadium earlier than falling to Alabama within the title recreation. In 2012, his Immokalee workforce topped Miami Jackson at historic Miami-Dade County highschool soccer venue Traz Powell Stadium within the Class 5A state semifinal earlier than shedding to Tallahassee Godby within the championship recreation.
“Jackson had a lot of good receivers that year too,” Alexander mentioned, reminiscing. “I remember that, for sure. It was a shootout. It was a crazy game.”
The Dolphins have been the hometown workforce for Alexander rising up, and he remembers watching a little bit little bit of the cornerback mixture of Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain within the early 2000s. Madison and Surtain are actually assistant coaches on Miami’s workers.
A member of the identical draft class as Dolphins All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard, Alexander mentioned the 2 have constructed a relationship not too long ago.
“We’ve had a bond since before I got here,” mentioned Alexander, who has 201 profession tackles, three interceptions 4 1/2 sacks and 32 go deflections in his six-year profession. “He was excited. He was probably one of the first guys that called me, and he was actually here when I was working out and stuff. He wanted me here.”
Known for his prominence masking the slot in nickel defenses, Alexander may serve that function behind Nik Needham for the Dolphins ought to Miami persist with him. Coach Mike McDaniel, although, doesn’t wish to field him into that class.
“The versatility of inside and outside I think is nice for us,” McDaniel mentioned of Alexander. “I’ll never be 100 percent committed to, ‘OK, this guy is only this,’ always leaving the options open fully knowing that he has experience.”
Alexander is open to no matter is finest for the protection.
“Wherever coach allows me to play and what he wants me to do, that’s where I’ll be,” he mentioned.
Alexander has the backing of Dolphins defensive sort out Christian Wilkins, who had a yr in widespread with him at Clemson.
“He’s a good player because he went to Clemson, so that’s No. 1,” Wilkins mentioned of Alexander Thursday. “I think he’s a veteran presence on this team now. He’s played a lot of ball, played a lot of good ball in the NFL. He’s a Florida boy. He’s going to come in and work. He’s a smart player.”
Alexander mentioned he and Wilkins will attempt to get Tigers coach Dabo Swinney to come back right down to Miami for an image collectively.
Alexander defined he had alternatives to signal with different groups this offseason, however he wished to come back to Miami.
“I like what they’re doing on defense here. It’s home for me,” he mentioned.
Alexander’s twin brother, Mackenro, who was additionally closely recruited at Immokalee with him earlier than attending Iowa State following a junior school stint, is now an actor on Tyler Perry’s TV sequence “Sistas.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com