Jesse_Alexander_(Canadian_football)
Jesse Alexander (Canadian football)
Canadian gridiron football player and coach (born 1981)
Jesse Alexander (born May 8, 1981) is a former Canadian football linebacker who played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[1] He played college football for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. In 2004, he was named a second-year CIS all-star.[2] The following year, Alexander helped the Golden Hawks win their second Vanier Cup.[3]
In 2006, Alexander became eligible for the CFL Draft. Both the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts expressed interest in signing Alexander.[4] He was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders,[5] but the Roughriders released him in their final cuts before the regular season.[6] Despite an offer to join the Roughriders' practice squad, Alexander chose to return to Wilfrid Laurier and play out his final year of college eligibility.[7][8] He was nominated for the Presidents' Trophy, which is awarded to the best defensive player in Canada, and was also named an all-Canadian defensive player.[9][10]
Alexander was re-signed by the Roughriders in 2007, but again failed to earn a spot on the final roster.[11] After being released by the Roughriders, Alexander signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and played his only two professional games in place of the injured Raymond Fontaine before being released.[1][12][13] In April 2008, he was picked up by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for training camp, but was released in mid-June.[14][15]
In 2007, Alexander returned to Wilfrid Laurier University as a linebacker coach for the Golden Hawks. He briefly left his coaching role to join the Blue Bombers, but returned to his position after being cut.[15] May 2016, Alexander coached linebackers with the Golden Hawks.[16] As of March 2017, Alexander became the special teams coordinator at York University.