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By: Warren Mayes
http://www.newsmagazinenetwork.com/...exander-comes-full-circle-as-rams-draft-pick/
Being drafted by the St. Louis Rams left Eureka graduate Maurice “Mo” Alexander overwhelmed.
“It’s a dream come true. I’m from here and I always dreamed of playing here,” Alexander said. “I know my mother is proud of me, and my family. It’s just a dream come true.”
Proud of her son, Alexander’s mother, Lynette McAlpine, may have to switch what NFL team she roots for now.
“She’s a (Green Bay) Packer fan,” Alexander said. “She’s going to be a Rams fan now.”
The 6-foot-2, 212-pound safety from Utah State is the first player from Eureka ever drafted into the NFL. The football program has had several players become free agents after a draft but this is the first one to be selected by a team.
Alexander also starred in wrestling and track for the Wildcats. He is a physical and aggressive player who shifted from outside linebacker to safety as a senior and who is expected to make an immediate impact with the Rams on special teams.
Eureka football coach Farrell Shelton, who has remained close to Alexander, said: “I’ve been crying. It’s a happy cry. He’s so appreciative of this opportunity. He had called of the night of Auburn-Florida State national championship game. He said ‘Coach, I graduated’ That really got to me. He and I shared a pretty cool moment.”
His other coaches are happy for him as well.
“We are very proud of Maurice and everything he has gone through to get where he is today,” Eureka wrestling coach Tim Yancey said. “He will represent Eureka High, the St. Louis area and the St. Louis Rams very well.
“Mo was a tremendous athlete. He is the complete package.”
That’s what the Rams are looking for.
A late bloomer, he didn’t play his first two years at Eureka, but he finished high school as a two-year all-state player along with being a two-time all-conference athlete. He helped the Wildcats to a pair of district championships and advance to the state semifinals twice.
He posted 134 tackles with 18.0 sacks his senior season.
He concluded his senior collegiate season ranking 32nd in the Mountain West and first among safeties.
Despite his on-field success, the road to the NFL wasn’t easy. Alexander got in trouble in college.
He was kicked off the Utah State team for one season and was sentenced to a year in jail after punching running back Joey DiMartino, a teammate, in the face after a party. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault resulting in body injury and all but 45 days of the sentence was suspended.
DeMartino needed surgery for broken bones in his left eye socket and a fractured cheekbone. On the upside, Alexander said the two remain “great friends.”
“It was a mistake, but it made me a better man today. That year off, it taught me a lot,” Alexander said. “I know it could be over quick.”
During his year off, Alexander came back to the area. He got a job as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome after St. Louis Rams games.
“Oh man, it was some work,” Alexander said. “I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of cleaning up to do in that stadium.”
Throughout it all, he kept his dreams alive.
“Every time I went to work, I always sat on the end of the field, and I looked at it like, ‘This could be my dream spot.’ Look where I’m at now,” he said. “It’s going to be an emotional moment. To go from working there as a janitor to playing there – it’s going to be an emotional moment.”
http://www.newsmagazinenetwork.com/...exander-comes-full-circle-as-rams-draft-pick/
Being drafted by the St. Louis Rams left Eureka graduate Maurice “Mo” Alexander overwhelmed.
“It’s a dream come true. I’m from here and I always dreamed of playing here,” Alexander said. “I know my mother is proud of me, and my family. It’s just a dream come true.”
Proud of her son, Alexander’s mother, Lynette McAlpine, may have to switch what NFL team she roots for now.
“She’s a (Green Bay) Packer fan,” Alexander said. “She’s going to be a Rams fan now.”
The 6-foot-2, 212-pound safety from Utah State is the first player from Eureka ever drafted into the NFL. The football program has had several players become free agents after a draft but this is the first one to be selected by a team.
Alexander also starred in wrestling and track for the Wildcats. He is a physical and aggressive player who shifted from outside linebacker to safety as a senior and who is expected to make an immediate impact with the Rams on special teams.
Eureka football coach Farrell Shelton, who has remained close to Alexander, said: “I’ve been crying. It’s a happy cry. He’s so appreciative of this opportunity. He had called of the night of Auburn-Florida State national championship game. He said ‘Coach, I graduated’ That really got to me. He and I shared a pretty cool moment.”
His other coaches are happy for him as well.
“We are very proud of Maurice and everything he has gone through to get where he is today,” Eureka wrestling coach Tim Yancey said. “He will represent Eureka High, the St. Louis area and the St. Louis Rams very well.
“Mo was a tremendous athlete. He is the complete package.”
That’s what the Rams are looking for.
A late bloomer, he didn’t play his first two years at Eureka, but he finished high school as a two-year all-state player along with being a two-time all-conference athlete. He helped the Wildcats to a pair of district championships and advance to the state semifinals twice.
He posted 134 tackles with 18.0 sacks his senior season.
He concluded his senior collegiate season ranking 32nd in the Mountain West and first among safeties.
Despite his on-field success, the road to the NFL wasn’t easy. Alexander got in trouble in college.
He was kicked off the Utah State team for one season and was sentenced to a year in jail after punching running back Joey DiMartino, a teammate, in the face after a party. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault resulting in body injury and all but 45 days of the sentence was suspended.
DeMartino needed surgery for broken bones in his left eye socket and a fractured cheekbone. On the upside, Alexander said the two remain “great friends.”
“It was a mistake, but it made me a better man today. That year off, it taught me a lot,” Alexander said. “I know it could be over quick.”
During his year off, Alexander came back to the area. He got a job as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome after St. Louis Rams games.
“Oh man, it was some work,” Alexander said. “I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of cleaning up to do in that stadium.”
Throughout it all, he kept his dreams alive.
“Every time I went to work, I always sat on the end of the field, and I looked at it like, ‘This could be my dream spot.’ Look where I’m at now,” he said. “It’s going to be an emotional moment. To go from working there as a janitor to playing there – it’s going to be an emotional moment.”
