Charles Alexander (running back)
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | July 28, 1957[1] | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Galveston, Texas | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Galveston (TX) Ball | ||||||||
| College: | LSU | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Charles Fred Alexander, Jr. (born July 28, 1957) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the late 1970s and 1980s. Alexander played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU) and twice received All-American honors, and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was a first-round pick in the 1979 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.
Early years
Alexander was born in Galveston, Texas. He played football at Ball High School,[1] where his role as a player was primarily as a blocking back. As a result, opportunities to show his ability were limited; he did not manage 1,000 yards in his entire prep career and was only recruited by a handful of colleges.[2]
College career
Alexander was recruited to LSU by running backs coach Jerry Stovall. He later recalled that Stovall offered him trust and a real chance to be a big-time running back. “As soon as I got here, I knew it was the place for me."[2] Alexander joined Hall of Fame coach Charles McClendon's LSU Tigers football team as a freshman in 1975. He played his first two seasons backing up All-SEC running back Terry Robiskie.[2] He rushed for 1,177 yards total in those two seasons, including 876 yards in his sophomore year.[2][3]
Alexander became the Tigers' starting running back in his junior season in 1977. His 1,686 rushing yards that season helped carry LSU to an 8-3 regular season record and a trip to the Sun Bowl.[4] In that game, Alexander set two Sun Bowl rushing records, carrying 31 times for 197 yards as he received Offensive Player of the Game honors. Despite Alexander's efforts—for which he was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team[5]—LSU fell to Stanford 24-14.[4]
Alexander saw his workload drop in his senior season in 1978, as the Tigers' offense became more balanced with fellow future LSU Athletic Hall of Famer David Woodley at quarterback. He and Woodley led the team to another 8-3 record. Alexander played his last game as a Tiger in the 1978 Liberty Bowl, in which he rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries in a 20-15 loss to Missouri.[4]
His accomplishments in an LSU uniform led fans to refer to him affectionately as "Alexander the Great."[6] In each of his final two seasons with the Tigers, Alexander was selected as a first-team consensus All-American and earned All-SEC honors. The 1977 campaign also saw Alexander selected as the SEC Most Valuable Player by the Nashville Banner. During his college career Alexander set nine SEC records, tied another and set 27 LSU records. He finished his LSU career with 4,035 rushing yards—over 1,500 yards more than the Tigers' previous career rushing yards leader.[7] His 1,686 rushing yards total and 153.3 yards per game in the 1977 season stood as LSU single season records until the 2015 season, when both were surpassed by Leonard Fournette.[8][9]
College statistics
| Season | School | Games | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | LSU | 11 | 108 | 301 | 2.8 | 2 |
| 1976 | LSU | 11 | 155 | 876 | 5.7 | 7 |
| 1977 | LSU | 11 | 311 | 1,686 | 5.4 | 17 |
| 1978 | LSU | 11 | 281 | 1,172 | 4.2 | 14 |
| Career | LSU | 44 | 855 | 4,035 | 4.7 | 40 |
* Does not include bowl games.
Professional career
Alexander was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 1979 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.[11] He spent the majority of his professional career backing up Pro Bowl running back Pete Johnson, while also splitting carries with former Heisman winner Archie Griffin. His most productive season came in 1980, during which he played in all 16 regular season games and carried the ball 169 times for 702 yards.[12]
He played a prominent role during the Bengals' run in the 1981 playoffs. In their divisional round win against the Buffalo Bills, Alexander rushed for 72 yards and scored two touchdowns. He is one of only four Bengals players to score multiple touchdowns from scrimmage in a single postseason game, as well as the first to do so.[13] He rushed for 22 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards in the Bengals' win over San Diego in the infamous "Freezer Bowl." [14] "Everything on the sidelines froze: the players, the water, the Gatorade, everything,” said Alexander about the game conditions.[2] In Super Bowl XVI, he carried five times for 17 yards while catching two passes for three yards in the Bengals' loss to the 49ers.[15]
Alexander finished his career with 2,645 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while adding 165 receptions for 1,130 yards and two touchdowns.[16]
Later life
After retiring from the NFL, Alexander went into the oil and gasoline business.[17] He also briefly served as assistant director of LSU's Tiger Athletic Foundation.[2] In 1989, Alexander was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame.[2] In 2011, he founded founded Charlie 4 Strong Seasoning, Inc., which markets C'mon Man Cajun seasoning and fish fry.[17] In 2012, he became the 8th former LSU football player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[18]
References
- 1 2 "Hall of Fame Inductee Detail for Charles Alexander". footballfoundation.org. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mickles, Sheldon. "Charles Alexander Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction". lasportshall.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ Aschoff, Edward. "Entering the Hall: Charles Alexander". ESPN.go.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Vincent, Herb (2008). LSU Football Vault: The History of the Fighting Tigers. Whitman Publishing, LLC. pp. 98–99. ISBN 0794824285.
- ↑ "75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team" (PDF). Geological Society of America Bulletin 74 (5): 1. 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ Vincent, Herb. "Alexander Named to College Football Hall of Fame". LSUsports.net. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ↑ Rabalais, Scott (2008). The Fighting Tigers, 1993–2008: Into a New Century of LSU Football. LSU Press. pp. 178–179.
- ↑ Kleinpeter, Jim. "Leonard Fournette sets LSU season rushing record". nola.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ Higgins, Ron. "LSU's Leonard Fournette puts exclamation point on record-setting season". nola.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ↑ "Charles Alexander college statistics". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ↑ "History: Full Draft". NFL.com. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ "Charles Alexander NFL stats". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ↑ "Bengals Postseason Individual Records" (PDF). Bengals.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ Beall, Joel. "Remembering the Freezer Bowl Warmly". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ "Charles Alexander: Game Logs". NFL.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins. 1999. p. 553.
- 1 2 Higgins, Ron. "Leonard Fournette could be better than Alexander the Great? C'mon Man!". nola.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ LSU Sports Information Office. "LSU Football 2015 Official Media Guide" (PDF). lsusports.net. LSU Publications Office. p. 206. Retrieved 31 December 2015.