Home Again, Alexander Unpacked His Greatness in UW Scrimmage
In the space of just a few hours on Saturday afternoon, the guy wearing No. 4 in a white University of Washington football jersey went from acrobat to amateur reporter to being renamed.
It was not so much a rapid transformation for this Husky player as it was a moment of rediscovery. He much prefers this identity.
Lonyatta Alexander Jr., more commonly known as Junior to set himself apart from his father, was home again making amazing catches in the final UW scrimmage to close out spring practice and soaking it all in.
Originally, the redshirt freshman wide receiver from Auburn, Washington, did what so many college students do — he left home, just to see what the outside world looked like.
He accepted a football scholarship from Herm Edwards and Arizona State. He appeared in only two games for the Sun Devils and didn't catch a pass. He didn't like it.
"Being depressed, figuring out pretty much who I am, not being able to play last year and redshirting, kind of took a big a toll on my mental side," Alexander said.
Lonyatta Alexander Jr. hauls in a touchdown pass from Sam Huard under tight coverage.
Skylar Lin Visuals
The Husky scrimmage, played in bright sunshine in front of a smattering of fans, went a long way to restoring his soul and reaffirming his talent.
Alexander caught 5 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, all but one of them coming from Sam Huard, his Kennedy Catholic High School and now Husky teammate.
He made the play of the day with a sensational one-handed grab on the sideline for 37 yards and two plays later he hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass, again with one hand, with both throws coming from Huard.
"I kind of dropped a tear before I came [out] because I should have been here a long time ago," Alexander said. "It was amazing to be out there and be home."
Still, this homecoming didn't come without complications. He missed considerable practice time with a hip flexor, or muscle strain.
In his big moment, Alexander got behind cornerback Antonio Hill to fully extend his left arm and almost use it like a vacuum cleaner to suction in the looping Huard pass, putting his offense on the opposing 23.
On the ensuing touchdown pass, he went up with one hand again, his right one this time, to secure the points.
Sam Huard and Lonyatta Alexander Jr. go airborne to celebrate their passing touchdown.
Skylar Lin Visuals
"When the ball is in the air, I was always taught to go get it," he said. "Not be a receiver, but be a taker."
All along, Alexander continued to marvel over being back in familiar surroundings and playing with his friends again and his parents watching.
"To come back home and feel love still from the Husky fans, from my family, and Sam and his family, and my teammates and everything with open arms, it felt amazing," he said.
Later, Alexander and Huard did back-to-back media interview sessions in an old team room up the tunnel in Husky Stadium, actually intersecting each other as one got up and the other sat down.
Huard playfully scoffed that the receiver only went with a one-handed snag to get on ESPN's SportsCenter that night with broadcaster Scott Van Pelt.
Alexander responded by playing the part of reporter, standing among those who make a living at it, and asking Huard who his favorite receiver was and drawing a vanilla response.
As he departed the media scrum, the pass-catcher declared from here on out he wanted to be called by his given name, Lonyatta, even if this created some confusion for him and his dad, who was once a walk-on UW player from Los Angeles. Apparently, the kid left his Junior moniker beyond in Arizona.
"Being able to come back home, starting off slow in spring ball, working my way up and making plays, it felt good," Alexander said. "It feels like I'm myself again."
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