CatfishSooner
8/31/2006, 08:07 PM
Rufus risesBy Zach West • The Oklahoma Daily
Posted 9:18 p.m., Aug. 30, 2006 E-Mail Article • Print Article • Post Comment
Rufus Alexander hasn’t yet reached his potential, according to OU football coaches.
That fact alone may be enough to strike fear in the heart of opposing players, considering Alexander led OU in tackles in 2005 and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection. Oh, and he’s also a candidate for numerous national awards and is one of the favorites for the Butkus Award, presented to the nation’s best linebacker.
“He has a lot of gifts. He just needs to be consistent with all of those qualities,” co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.
For Alexander, a senior, the 2006 season presents an opportunity to cement himself in a line of stellar OU players at his position. In the Bob Stoops era alone, Torrance Marshall, Rocky Calmus and Teddy Lehman have all received national attention and awards for their play at linebacker.
“It’s an honor, coming over here with the great tradition we have,” Alexander said. “For me just to carry the torch on that other guys have done so successfully. You can even go way back to when Boz (Brian Bosworth) was here, George Cumby, Coach (Jackie) Shipp, Chris Wilson. When ESPN and other people talk about the great linebackers, you have to talk about the University of Oklahoma. Linebackers and Oklahoma kind of go together.”
Three years ago, Alexander didn’t appear to be headed for a spot in Sooner lore. After redshirting his freshman year, Alexander tore his ACL in the spring game before he had ever played a down.
“I was really sad,” he said.
After sitting down with coaches and family, though, Alexander didn’t stay down for long.
“They just told me ‘man, a lot of people just bounce back from it. All you gotta do is just work at it, and it’ll come back and you’ll get everything you want, as long as you work at it.’”
And work at it Alexander did. Halfway through his freshman campaign, Alexander was back on the field. His sophomore season, he was tabbed an All-Big 12 second team selection.
“I was always a guy that just worked. I just worked and worked, and I feel that great things will happen if you keep on working at it and don’t put your head down,” Alexander said. “Whatever you put into it is what you’ll get out of it.”
Now coaches say all Alexander needs to do is show consistency and leadership to reach the level of past OU greats.
“He has to stand out and pull our defense together,” Venables said. “When things are going bad — and inevitably there will be a bad drive or a bad play and things of that nature — he’s got to be able to have the maturity to grab everybody and get our focus on the next play, the next series, the next game. The great leaders can do that. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to do that. He has to play the game really hard and demand that of himself and his teammates. It sounds really simple, but it’s not. Most guys don’t, and the great ones do. To me, that’s what puts you in the great category.”
Although he is being mentioned alongside Marshall, Calmus and Lehman, Alexander points to a different Sooner linebacker as his inspiration and motivation — Gayron Allen.
“Gayron has had a tremendous impact on my life and the way I play here,” Alexander said. “The things I know, I learned from him. He showed me the way, showed me the ropes, things to look for. I give a lot of my success to him, him and Coach Venables. Coach Venables would break me down, and Gayron Allen would pick me back up and put me back together.”
Undersized at 5-10, Allen didn’t become a full-time starter at OU until over halfway through his senior season. He made the best of his time, though, gaining honorable mention All-Big 12 status.
“He was a guy who was a great ambassador to this program, a great leader, a great linebacker here. I feel he should be mentioned up there with Teddy and Rocky and Torrance.”
Although individual honors aren’t that important to Alexander — “I’m more of a championship type of guy,” he said — he is glad that he will have Sooner fans chanting “Ruuuuuuuu” for the season.
“I hear it on the field. It’s an honor,” Alexander said. “I love it. I’m just gracious and very grateful that they’ve taken so much to me and like me so much.”
As for Venables, he said he’s proud of the development he’s seen in Alexander over the years.
“He gets it now. I think he got it at points in time last year, but you can’t be selective,” Venables said. “He’s got to be the guy that I can coach the hardest. That’s a leadership quality that a lot of guys don’t get. The great players and the great leaders that we have had have accepted that and welcomed that and we’ve seen that progression in Rufus as well.”
Posted 9:18 p.m., Aug. 30, 2006 E-Mail Article • Print Article • Post Comment
Rufus Alexander hasn’t yet reached his potential, according to OU football coaches.
That fact alone may be enough to strike fear in the heart of opposing players, considering Alexander led OU in tackles in 2005 and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection. Oh, and he’s also a candidate for numerous national awards and is one of the favorites for the Butkus Award, presented to the nation’s best linebacker.
“He has a lot of gifts. He just needs to be consistent with all of those qualities,” co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.
For Alexander, a senior, the 2006 season presents an opportunity to cement himself in a line of stellar OU players at his position. In the Bob Stoops era alone, Torrance Marshall, Rocky Calmus and Teddy Lehman have all received national attention and awards for their play at linebacker.
“It’s an honor, coming over here with the great tradition we have,” Alexander said. “For me just to carry the torch on that other guys have done so successfully. You can even go way back to when Boz (Brian Bosworth) was here, George Cumby, Coach (Jackie) Shipp, Chris Wilson. When ESPN and other people talk about the great linebackers, you have to talk about the University of Oklahoma. Linebackers and Oklahoma kind of go together.”
Three years ago, Alexander didn’t appear to be headed for a spot in Sooner lore. After redshirting his freshman year, Alexander tore his ACL in the spring game before he had ever played a down.
“I was really sad,” he said.
After sitting down with coaches and family, though, Alexander didn’t stay down for long.
“They just told me ‘man, a lot of people just bounce back from it. All you gotta do is just work at it, and it’ll come back and you’ll get everything you want, as long as you work at it.’”
And work at it Alexander did. Halfway through his freshman campaign, Alexander was back on the field. His sophomore season, he was tabbed an All-Big 12 second team selection.
“I was always a guy that just worked. I just worked and worked, and I feel that great things will happen if you keep on working at it and don’t put your head down,” Alexander said. “Whatever you put into it is what you’ll get out of it.”
Now coaches say all Alexander needs to do is show consistency and leadership to reach the level of past OU greats.
“He has to stand out and pull our defense together,” Venables said. “When things are going bad — and inevitably there will be a bad drive or a bad play and things of that nature — he’s got to be able to have the maturity to grab everybody and get our focus on the next play, the next series, the next game. The great leaders can do that. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to do that. He has to play the game really hard and demand that of himself and his teammates. It sounds really simple, but it’s not. Most guys don’t, and the great ones do. To me, that’s what puts you in the great category.”
Although he is being mentioned alongside Marshall, Calmus and Lehman, Alexander points to a different Sooner linebacker as his inspiration and motivation — Gayron Allen.
“Gayron has had a tremendous impact on my life and the way I play here,” Alexander said. “The things I know, I learned from him. He showed me the way, showed me the ropes, things to look for. I give a lot of my success to him, him and Coach Venables. Coach Venables would break me down, and Gayron Allen would pick me back up and put me back together.”
Undersized at 5-10, Allen didn’t become a full-time starter at OU until over halfway through his senior season. He made the best of his time, though, gaining honorable mention All-Big 12 status.
“He was a guy who was a great ambassador to this program, a great leader, a great linebacker here. I feel he should be mentioned up there with Teddy and Rocky and Torrance.”
Although individual honors aren’t that important to Alexander — “I’m more of a championship type of guy,” he said — he is glad that he will have Sooner fans chanting “Ruuuuuuuu” for the season.
“I hear it on the field. It’s an honor,” Alexander said. “I love it. I’m just gracious and very grateful that they’ve taken so much to me and like me so much.”
As for Venables, he said he’s proud of the development he’s seen in Alexander over the years.
“He gets it now. I think he got it at points in time last year, but you can’t be selective,” Venables said. “He’s got to be the guy that I can coach the hardest. That’s a leadership quality that a lot of guys don’t get. The great players and the great leaders that we have had have accepted that and welcomed that and we’ve seen that progression in Rufus as well.”