May 10, 2014
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State all-conference safety Maurice Alexander became the sixth Aggie, including the third defensive back, selected in the NFL Draft in the past four years as he was taken in the fourth round with the 110th overall pick by his hometown St. Louis Rams.
Overall, Utah State has now had 117 players selected in the NFL Draft.
Alexander is the seventh Aggie ever to be drafted by the Rams organization joining back Jay Van Noy (10/129) in 1950, center Mike Connelly in 1959 (12/141), offensive guard Bill Meglen (22/261) in 1959, defensive tackle Merlin Olsen (1/3) in 1962, quarterback Bill Munson (1/7) in 1964, and wide receiver Kevin Curtis (3/74) in 2003.
Alexander will join nine other former Aggies who are currently on NFL rosters. Defensive back Jarrett Bush is with the Green Bay Packers, defensive back Will Davis is with the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver Chuck Jacobs is with the San Francisco 49ers, defensive back Curtis Marsh is with the Philadelphia Eagles, offensive tackle Donald Penn is with the Oakland Raiders, running back Michael Smith is with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, running back Robert Turbin and linebacker Bobby Wagner are both with the Seattle Seahawks, and running back Kerwynn Williams is with the San Diego Chargers.
Alexander, a 6-2, 211-pounder from St. Louis, Mo. (Eureka HS/Arizona Western College) earned honorable mention all-Mountain West honors as he started 13 straight games as a senior before missing the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl with an injury. He recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the 2013 season-opener at Utah to go along with a career-high 1.5 sacks and a career-best two pass breakups. Overall, he had eight or more tackles in five games during the season and intercepted his first career pass against San José State. He also forced fumbles in back-to-back games against BYU and Boise State, and recovered his first career fumble at No. 24 Fresno State in the inaugural Mountain West Championship game.
Alexander concluded his senior season ranking 32nd in the Mountain West and first among safeties with 6.2 tackles per game as he ranked fourth on the team with 80 total tackles (40-solo, 40-assist) and fourth in tackles for loss with 9.0. He was also fourth on the team with 3.5 sacks and fourth with six pass breakups, while his two forced fumbles tied for first on the team.
Utah State concluded the 2013 season with a 21-14 win against 24th-ranked Northern Illinois in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl to finish the year with a 9-5 record and tie the 1960 and 1961 teams for the second-most wins in school history. With its win against Northern Illinois, Utah State posted back-to-back bowl wins for the first time in school history as it played in its third-straight bowl game, also a first at USU.
Utah State, who finished the 2013 season by winning six of its final seven games, also set the school record for conference wins as it posted a 7-1 league mark in its first season in the Mountain West to win the Mountain Division of the conference and advance to the inaugural Mountain West Championship game.
Utah State ended the year ranking tied for 37th nationally in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls with two votes each, marking the second time in as many years that USU has concluded the season ranked among the top teams in the nation as the 2012 team was ranked 16th in the final AP poll, 17th in the final coaches' poll and 22nd in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings.
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