Highland football standout Jordan Alexander signed to continue his career in that sport for Heidelberg University at the high school last Wednesday.
Alexander, who parlayed a strong season on the offensive line into being a first-team pick in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, noted that a number of schools in the Ohio Athletic Conference were interested in him, but Heidelberg seemed to be the best fit.
“I was also recruited by Otterbein, Ohio Northern, Baldwin-Wallace and a few other OAC schools,” he said. “Honestly, Heidelberg felt like home to me. Their interest in me made me feel more welcome. They genuinely cared as much about my education as me as a football player.”
Alexander, who currently is undecided on his major, will play right tackle for the Student Princes. He noted he might be able to immediately compete for playing time, as he’s been told the team currently is lacking depth on the offensive line — an exciting possibility for a player who wasn’t even considering college football until after the 2015 season.
“I hadn’t considered it while playing,” he said. “It wasn’t until a few months after the season when the coaches asked if I had any interest.”
After talking to representatives from various schools, he then took an overnight visit to the school, located in Tiffin, and chose to attend. He noted that the coaching staff there liked certain aspects of his game.
“My speed as far as how big I am and strength, as well as playing smart,” he said, noting the last element was particularly important due to the complexity of their offense.
“They have a really diverse offense with a lot of components, so they want me to learn a lot of things,” he said. “Here, we were a straight wing and T offense. I have no idea what their base offense is — they move around a lot.”
Because of that, Alexander is looking forward to the challenge of starting his college career.
“Coming in as a freshman, I think it’ll be challenging at first,” he said. “I think it’ll go a lot smoother after I get the feel of the program.”
