Alexander Is Husky X Factor Against Top-Ranked Ohio State

X marks the spot, or at least the position No. 1-ranked Ohio State likely will try to exploit first when its offense takes the field in Saturday's game against the University of Washington football team at Husky Stadium.

That would be Xe'ree Alexander, a local yet well-traveled kid with an exotic name from Auburn, Washington, who will be asked to replace the injured Buddah Al-Uqdah as a starting linebacker against the Buckeyes.

However, if Ohio State thinks it will just deal with some inexperienced player pulled out of the depth that it can readily abuse, Alexander is none of that.

Xe'ree Alexander sets himself for play against UC Davis. | Dave Sizer photo

Foremost, the Huskies have made the Central Florida and Idaho transfer a working physical project, recognizing his talent level but asking him to bulk up to better handle the big boys of the Big Ten Conference coming at him.

Since arriving in Montlake, Alexander has put 15-20 pounds on a frame now listed at 6-foot-2 and 242 pounds.

"He looks great," UW coach Jedd Fisch said. "He's got great height, good size."

Xe'ree Alexander has put on nearly 20 pounds at the UW. | Dave Sizer photo

Even before putting on the added muscle, Alexander showed he could play effectively at Central Florida, that he knows a little something about sniffing out X's and O's, per se.

In a late-season game at West Virginia last year, he came up with 17 tackles in a 31-21 loss on the road -- a total tied that for the most in the Big 12 Conference in 2024. He also had 11 tackles in a 38-35 defeat at Iowa State.

"He's experienced, he's done it before, he's played in big games," Fisch said.

Alexander, whose older brother Lonyatta was a UW wide receiver in 2022 and is now playing for Idaho, appeared in 25 games and started 13 at his previous stops. When he spent time at Idaho himself, Xe'ree was an All-Big Sky honorable mention selection as a freshman.

Over the winter, Alexander was one of two transfer linebackers brought in by Huskies, arriving with Al-Uqdah from Washington State, the man he will now replace for an undetermined amount of time.

Against Ohio State, he should be considered an X factor, someone a little mysterious rather than a simply a reserve player who could be highly vulnerable. He is right where the Huskies envisioned he might be at some point.

"The reason we brought X in here was to compete to be a starting linebacker," Fisch said. "So he'll be that this week."

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