Shaun Alexander: College Career, Awards, and Legacy

Shaun Edward Alexander, born on August 30, 1977, is a former American professional football running back. He achieved considerable success in both college and the National Football League (NFL). This article delves into his college career, the awards he received, and his overall legacy in football.

Early Life and High School Career

Alexander was raised in Florence, Kentucky, where he attended Florence Elementary School and Rector A. Jones Middle School. In 1991, he entered Boone County High School and was elected Class President every year. As a sophomore, Alexander joined the varsity team as the second-string running back. However, by mid-season, he emerged as the team's primary running back, rushing for 1,095 yards and 14 touchdowns.

During his junior season in 1993, Alexander ran for 2,396 yards and 42 touchdowns, leading Boone County to the state semifinals. In a game against Campbell County, Alexander rushed for seven touchdowns. His senior season in 1994-1995 was even more remarkable, as he rushed for 3,166 yards and a state record of 54 touchdowns. Alexander was named Kentucky's "Mr. Football." His high school number 37 was retired before he graduated. In three years, Shaun rushed for 6,657 yards and 110 touchdowns.

College Career at Alabama

In 1995, Alexander accepted a scholarship from Gene Stallings, then-head coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. He chose to play for the University of Alabama because he liked the warm weather and the students' excitement. Mike DuBose replaced Stallings in 1997.

1996 Season

During the 1996 college football season, Shaun Alexander didn’t start off the year as the team’s starting running back, in fact, he was actually the 3rd option. That all changed on the ESPN prime time night game on November 9th, 1996 when #10 Alabama played #11 LSU. Alexander set a school record and rushed for 291 yards and four touchdowns against LSU. Alabama vs LSU (Nov. 9, 1996). He finished the year with 589 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

1997 Season

The 1997 season was tough for Shaun and his team. He had 415 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

1998 Season

The 1998 season turned out much better for both, as Alabama improved to 7-5, and Alexander had 18 touchdowns (14 rushing and four receiving) and attained 1,178 yards.

1999 Season

Following his junior season, Alexander decided to return for his senior season rather than leaving early for the NFL draft. After initially being given Heisman Trophy consideration to start the 1999 season, those hopes faded as the season progressed and he ended with a sprained ankle versus Tennessee. Alexander still led the NCAA in scoring 144 points and co-led in rushing touchdowns with 19. He played a key role in leading the Tide to the 1999 SEC Championship Game, as Alabama trampled #3 Florida with a 34-7 victory. In Alexander's second season in the NFL, he became the Seahawks' featured running back, following injuries and the eventual retirement of Watters. In a game against Auburn, Shaun led a comeback. He scored three rushing touchdowns and had 199 total yards.

Shaun ended his career at Alabama with 3,565 yards rushing (41 touchdowns), 798 receiving yards (8 TD receptions), and one kickoff return for a touchdown.

NFL Career

Alexander was selected by the Seahawks 19th overall in the 2000 NFL draft.

Read also: Alexander's Collegiate Impact

2000 Season

In his first year (2000), Shaun played a limited role. He rushed for 313 yards and two touchdowns.

2001 Season

In 2001, he became the Seahawks' main running back. Alexander rushed 309 times for 1,318 yards and 14 touchdowns, only behind Marshall Faulk for total touchdowns. On November 11, 2001, he set a team record. The offensive line was led by All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones and rookie left guard Steve Hutchinson.

2002 Season

In 2002, Alexander started all 16 games en route to an NFC leading (and franchise record) 16 rushing touchdowns, four of which came in the first half of Seattle's September 29, 2002 game against the Minnesota Vikings in only the second regular-season game ever at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle. He also caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in the first half. The five touchdowns in that half set an NFL record.

2003 Season

2003 was another productive year for Alexander. He rushed his way to a career-high of 1,435 rushing yards and scored 16 touchdowns. Seattle also made its first playoff appearance since 2000. Against the Green Bay Packers in the wild card game, Alexander had only 45 yards on 20 carries, but had three rushing touchdowns.

2004 Season

In 2004, Alexander remained one of the key components of Seattle's offense. Alexander finished second in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,696.

2005 Season: MVP Season

Alexander had a great deal of success in the 2005 season. In the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he rushed for 73 yards. Other highlights include an 88-yard touchdown run against the Arizona Cardinals on November 6, and rushing for 165 yards against the St. Louis Rams on November 13. Also, he had two 4-touchdown games, against Arizona on September 25, and against the Houston Texans on October 16.

During the 2005 season, Alexander broke the franchise record for the most rushing yards in the Seattle Seahawks' history. On November 13, 2005, scoring 3 touchdowns, Alexander became the first running back in NFL history to record 15 or more touchdowns in five consecutive seasons. On November 20, 2005, in San Francisco, Alexander became the first player in NFL history to score 19 rushing or receiving touchdowns in only 10 games (Steve Van Buren had 18 in 1945).

On December 11, 2005, in Seattle's NFC West-clinching victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Alexander had his ninth 100-yard rushing game of the year, breaking Chris Warren's franchise record of eight 100-yard games. In the process he also set a more significant NFL record, running for 100 yards against divisional opponents in nine straight games, a record previously held by Walter Payton. On December 18, 2005, in a game against the Tennessee Titans, Alexander passed the 1,600-yard mark for the second consecutive season, had a Seahawks franchise record 10th 100-yard rushing game, and scored his 24th rushing touchdown of the year (as well as the 86th of his career, tying him with Priest Holmes at 12th on the all-time rushing touchdown leader list). Perhaps more substantial is that his 96th career touchdown moved him into an 18th place tie with Randy Moss and Eric Dickerson on the all-time touchdown leader list, having already bumped Priest Holmes (94 TDs) into 21st.

On January 1, 2006, in a game against the Green Bay Packers, Alexander set the single-season touchdown record at 28, and tied Priest Holmes's record of 27 rushing touchdowns in a season. Alexander also won his first NFL rushing title with 1,880 rushing yards, while leading the NFC for the second consecutive year. In 2005, he joined Emmitt Smith, Priest Holmes, and Marshall Faulk as the only running backs to record consecutive seasons of 20 or more touchdowns. Four days later, on January 5, he was awarded the 2005 NFL MVP Award, becoming the first Seahawk to win the MVP award. He beat out New York Giants running back Tiki Barber and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning who had won the award the previous two years. Alexander garnered 19 out of a possible 50 votes. A day after receiving the MVP award, Alexander was named Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year. He received 34 votes of a panel of 50 NFL sportswriters and broadcasters. He was also named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year.

In the divisional round against the Washington Redskins, Alexander suffered a concussion early on and had to watch the Seahawks win. The Seahawks lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006. Alexander was, however, the leading rusher of the game with 95 yards. At the end of the season, he was selected to be the cover athlete of Madden NFL 2007. Alexander was the first player to be featured on both the covers of Madden NFL and NCAA Football (the latter on 2001).

Alexander's MVP season was celebrated musically by Dustin Blatnik and the 12th Man Band in the song "Sweet Shaun Alexander", a parody of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". "Sweet Shaun" was widely aired in the Seattle area in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL, plus national play on ESPN Radio and other outlets.

2006 Season

Alexander broke his left foot in Week 3 of the season, effectively continuing the Madden Curse. However, in the same game, Alexander set a team record while scoring his 102nd touchdown of his career, breaking Steve Largent's record. He returned to action on November 19 against the San Francisco 49ers, rushing 17 times for 37 yards. In a November 27 game on ESPN's Monday Night Football against the Packers, Alexander carried the ball a team record 40 times for 201 yards in a game that featured snow for the first time at Qwest Field. Alexander's performance was a return to MVP form and yet another prime-time showcase for Alexander, who was still playing with the broken foot.

2007 Season

During the Week 1 game against Tampa Bay, Alexander sustained a fractured left wrist. He indicated that the injury was not major and that he would continue to play, but his performance took a noticeable turn for the worse. During Week 5, Alexander's lead blocker, Mack Strong, was injured with a herniated disk in his neck, forcing him to retire; he was replaced by Leonard Weaver. This left Alexander even more exposed and as a result, injuries continued to plague him. In Week 9, he sprained both his knee and ankle. Alexander's final regular season statistics for the 2007 season were 716 yards rushing on 207 attempts, a 3.5-yard per carry with four touchdowns in 10 games.

Washington Redskins

After his release, Alexander visited several teams including the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and New Orleans Saints, but was not able to come to terms on a contract until he visited the Washington Redskins. On October 14, 2008, the Washington Redskins signed him. He played in four games for the Redskins. He had only 11 carries for 24 yards.

Career Statistics and Achievements

Shaun Alexander is one of only 25 players in NFL history with 100 career touchdowns. He ranks 17th all-time as of 2024.

NFL Career Highlights and Awards:

NFL MVP (2005)
Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year (2005)
FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year (2005)
3× Pro Bowl (2003-2005)
First-team All-Pro (2005)
Second-team All-Pro (2004)
NFL rushing yards leader (2005)
NFL rushing touchdowns leader (2005)
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander.

Past winners include Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) - 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis)-2019, Will Anderson Jr.

Finalists for the 7th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award will be December 4, 2024, and the winner of the award will be announced on December 26, 2024.

Holstein, who previously was the lone freshman named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2024 list, leads all freshmen across FBS in several offensive categories - total offense (295.1 yards per game), passing offense (257.0 yards per game), passing yards (2,056), passing touchdowns (17) and points responsible for (122). His 17 touchdown passes are tied with Alex Van Pelt (1989) for the most by a Pitt freshman. His four 300-yard passing games also matched Van Pelt’s 1989 school freshman record.

Brown has done it all this season for Louisville, as he ranks in the top 25 nationally in several statistical categories. The freshman running back leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally in yards per carry (7.55) and 24th nationally in rushing yards (800). Brown has recorded eight rushing touchdowns and four 100-yard rushing games on the season, as no other true freshman running back at Louisville has had more than two.

Personal Life

Alexander married Valerie Boyd in April 2002 after a two-year courtship. They have 12 children together. Shaun also has an older brother named Durran.

Hall of Fame Consideration

However, he has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where he has not even been selected as a semifinalist since being first eligible in 2014. Some argue that Alexander's relatively short peak performance and injury-plagued later years have hindered his chances of Hall of Fame selection.

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