CK Sooner
8/18/2009, 03:52 PM
http://newsok.com/ou-teammates-see-a-big-year-from-frank-alexander/article/3393595?custom_click=lead_story_title
NORMAN—Frank Alexander is ready. Senior offensive lineman Trent Williams sees it. So does the man he lines up alongside, Gerald McCoy. Linebacker Travis Lewis can’t help but see it, lined up behind two of the best defensive linemen in the Big 12.
Alexander, though, isn’t so sure about all the compliments coming his way. Of course, no one’s going to complain about a little modesty.
"I knew Frank was good,” McCoy said. "Frank just needed a shot, and they gave Frank that shot and he did his thing.”
If Alexander’s thing is recording 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his final three starts of 2008, three of his team’s biggest games, the Sooners should expect even bigger things from his second season on the field.
Alexander’s output as a freshman surpassed McCoy’s first season, when McCoy earned Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. More impressive is Alexander doing it in only nine games, after he was stabbed in his right arm during a nightclub incident that cost him five games.
"Last year, he left a lot of sacks on the field,” Williams said, pointing out the number of times he slipped past the offensive line far outnumbered his sack total.
Check back in October to see if those sacks find their way into Alexander’s stat line this season.
"I’ve grown a little bit,” Alexander said. "I feel like now is the time. I know I’ve got a lot to work on.”
Complicating Alexander’s rise is one glaring detail: he isn’t the starter.
A sprained Auston English knee gave Alexander the opportunity to start as a freshman late in the season, but the All-Big 12 defensive end enters his senior season back atop the depth chart.
"I look up to Auston, because me and him are basically in the same situation,” Alexander said. "We had a crutch, and we got back up and went from there.”
Whatever Alexander’s role becomes, McCoy says it doesn’t matter. Alexander will see the field, and when he does, he’ll make an impact on a defensive line that’s among the most talented and deep in college football.
Whether that impact comes as a starter or a reserve is irrelevant.
"When you have to double team one or two of our defensive linemen, it makes our job extremely easy,” said Lewis, who led Oklahoma with 144 tackles in 2008. "You guys see the tackles we make, but you don’t see what happens up front.”
Alexander says he’s lost a few pounds in the offseason and is down to a more toned 252 pounds filling out his 6-foot, 4-inch frame. Last season, he learned how unpredictable the future could be. He’s hesitant to forecast what his sophomore season will bring. Not everyone is quite so coy.
"He could do bigger than I did,” McCoy said.
Text "Sooners" to 65360 today for your chance to win 2 tickets to OU vs. BYU in Dallas, Sept. 5.
NORMAN—Frank Alexander is ready. Senior offensive lineman Trent Williams sees it. So does the man he lines up alongside, Gerald McCoy. Linebacker Travis Lewis can’t help but see it, lined up behind two of the best defensive linemen in the Big 12.
Alexander, though, isn’t so sure about all the compliments coming his way. Of course, no one’s going to complain about a little modesty.
"I knew Frank was good,” McCoy said. "Frank just needed a shot, and they gave Frank that shot and he did his thing.”
If Alexander’s thing is recording 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his final three starts of 2008, three of his team’s biggest games, the Sooners should expect even bigger things from his second season on the field.
Alexander’s output as a freshman surpassed McCoy’s first season, when McCoy earned Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. More impressive is Alexander doing it in only nine games, after he was stabbed in his right arm during a nightclub incident that cost him five games.
"Last year, he left a lot of sacks on the field,” Williams said, pointing out the number of times he slipped past the offensive line far outnumbered his sack total.
Check back in October to see if those sacks find their way into Alexander’s stat line this season.
"I’ve grown a little bit,” Alexander said. "I feel like now is the time. I know I’ve got a lot to work on.”
Complicating Alexander’s rise is one glaring detail: he isn’t the starter.
A sprained Auston English knee gave Alexander the opportunity to start as a freshman late in the season, but the All-Big 12 defensive end enters his senior season back atop the depth chart.
"I look up to Auston, because me and him are basically in the same situation,” Alexander said. "We had a crutch, and we got back up and went from there.”
Whatever Alexander’s role becomes, McCoy says it doesn’t matter. Alexander will see the field, and when he does, he’ll make an impact on a defensive line that’s among the most talented and deep in college football.
Whether that impact comes as a starter or a reserve is irrelevant.
"When you have to double team one or two of our defensive linemen, it makes our job extremely easy,” said Lewis, who led Oklahoma with 144 tackles in 2008. "You guys see the tackles we make, but you don’t see what happens up front.”
Alexander says he’s lost a few pounds in the offseason and is down to a more toned 252 pounds filling out his 6-foot, 4-inch frame. Last season, he learned how unpredictable the future could be. He’s hesitant to forecast what his sophomore season will bring. Not everyone is quite so coy.
"He could do bigger than I did,” McCoy said.
Text "Sooners" to 65360 today for your chance to win 2 tickets to OU vs. BYU in Dallas, Sept. 5.