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Hokies Football: Adonis Alexander Could Be a Freshman All-American

When the Virginia Tech Hokies put together their recruiting class for 2015, the Hokies put together a group with some impressive recruits led by ESPN five-star DT Tim Settle and four-star QB Dwayne Lawson as big parts of the future of Virginia Tech football. One of the most under-the-radar players was lightly recruited three-star safety Adonis Alexander from Charlotte, North Carolina. Alexander did not receive much talk largely due to the fact that he was so lightly recruited with only eight total offers from Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Marshall, Old Dominion, Ohio, Charlotte, and Appalachian State. However, multiple insiders and Bud Foster recognized that Alexander had tremendous size and athleticism that had many drawing comparisons between him and another lightly-recruited former Hokie, Kam Chancellor. So far, Alexander has proved the Hokies right and likely has many, especially in the Carolinas, wondering how they missed out on the Hokies' starting rover. Alexander took the starting rover job for the third game of the season against Purdue after playing a lot in the first two games and hasn't looked back since. So far, Alexander has 34 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 5 pass deflections in six games in what has been an impressive start. Adonis Alexander was seen as a raw athlete in the spring, but Foster and Torrian Gray have done a great job coaching up the Charlotte safety. Alexander has 25 solo tackles, and has proven to be an excellent open-field tackler that has great technique as does a great job of preventing running backs from getting a big play on the outside. Alexander has proven to be a very good player in the box that does a great job in support in run coverage to contain the big plays. Alexander has shown improving instincts in this role, and should only to improve as he continues to get more on-field experience over the course of this season. Alexander is still fairly raw in pass coverage as he has shown some struggles in man coverage, but has also had some great plays in zone and man coverage including his spectacular interception against N.C. State to finish the game off. Adonis Alexander has a huge ceiling as he definitely could go from being 6'3'' and a little over 190 pounds to around the 220-pound mark over the next few years while still being a great athlete. Alexander is also showing that he is a fairly good sponge of what Bud Foster and Torrian Gray are teaching him, and that he has the work ethic necessary to be a great player. Alexander has a future at the next level, and has gone from an under-the-radar, low three-star recruit with only two offers from power 5 programs to a potential Freshman All-American without a redshirt year.
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