X Marks the Spot at Husky Linebacker So Far

With a week of University of Washington spring football complete, the Huskies have a bunch of young guys taking turns at running back. They're running No. 1 offensive plays with their third-string center. They're steadily rotating defensive line candidates in and out.

Yet the most interesting development quite possibly is at linebacker. With three showcase players competing for two spots, the guy pulling the most snaps so far is not who people might have guessed at first.

It's not Jacob Manu, who three years ago was the Pac-12's leading tackler. Nor is it Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who might be the best pro prospect of this trio.

No, it's Xe'ree Alexander seldom leaving the field during spring ball.

It's him and Manu more often than not on the No. 1 defense. Or it's him and Rainey-Sale. Or all three of them take the field together. But rarely is Alexander not out there manning the second row for the Huskies.

The 6-foot-1, 238-pound senior from Auburn, Washington, is sort of driven whenever he's considered the odd-man out.

"I love reminding myself of where I've started," the man referred to as X said. "That really motivates me to where I can be."

Obviously, that was the case for him at the Huskies' bowl game last December. Manu and Rainey-Sale drew the starting assignments. Yet Alexander came off the bench and left with LA Bowl defensive MVP honors in the UW's 38-10 victory.

Nothing seems to bother this guy, such as whether or not he gets his name called out over the public-address system as a game-opening player. He just makes things happen when he's called.

Once he got on the field in Los Angeles, Alexander came up with a team-best 7 tackles, 2 pass break-ups, an interception and a 22-yard kickoff return.

"I love being versatile," he said.

Xe'ree Alexander turned in an MVP performance at the LA Bowl. | Dave Sizer photo

A year ago, Alexander made the UW his third college football stop after previously playing for Idaho and Central Florida. He showed up in Montlake three years after his brother, wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr., played there.

He initially found himself behind junior Buddah Al-Uqdah and sophomore Deven Bryant, who were the early Husky starters but didn't finish that way.

Al-Uqdah suffered a season-ending knee injury and Bryant took a reserve role. Alexander became a starter for five games and Manu and Rainey-Sale received medical clearance to play following knee surgeries and were in and out of the starting lineup, with Manu preserving his eligibility.

"When I first got here, I felt it was a really big adjustment learning a whole new playbook," Alexander said.

Xe'ree Alexander brings down an Illinois ball carrier. | Dave Sizer photo

He's comfortable now, so much so that Huskies intend to use him at a regular inside linebacker spot, in an outside linebacker role and as an edge rusher at times.

Alexander has been so resilient, he's still playing the game while the LA Bowl, which gave him a platform to be great, no longer exists.

"Time to get another MVP somewhere else," he said with a smile.