By Julie Buehler
DJ Alexander didn’t have an easy path to the NFL, but it’s not hard to understand why he’s gaining a reputation in the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room as a “hustle guy.”
Barely on track to graduate from Palm Desert High School, but facing a rare opportunity to play Division-I football at Oregon State University, Alexander took 12 classes his senior year to make himself academically eligible while playing football for the Aztecs and setting new PDHS records on the track team.
His combination of size and speed caught the attention of coaches from around the country, but the dedication to his future impressed Aztec head coach Pat Blackburn. They used Alexander’s years at Palm Desert to establish a relationship, one Alexander calls “key” to his success. After a solid career as a Beaver, Alexander was drafted in the 5th round of the 2015 NFL Draft, becoming the first player ever drafted to the NFL out of PDHS.
While the two stayed in touch through Alexander’s years at Oregon State, they reunited in person at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego after the Chiefs took down the Chargers 33-3.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks,” Alexander said in the Chiefs locker room, before he was able to sneak out of the interview area and meet the friends and family in town to see him. “I can’t even begin to guess how many people are out there.”
But as soon as he saw the Aztecs logo on Blackburn’s cap, the crowd of Chiefs fans dissolved momentarily and the two shared a moment.
“It’s awesome,” Blackburn said. “It’s awesome that he shares his success with us and it’s awesome that he thanks me for the little part I had in his career.”
It’s more than just a little part according to Alexander.
With his grades slipping and his dreams fading, it was Blackburn that refocused the talented teenager to create a vision for his success and pursue it.
But as Alexander said, it wasn’t easy, but it was rewarding.
And it’s equally rewarding (perhaps not financially, but certainly emotionally) for Blackburn to see his player’s success. When asked if there were moments he cherished more in his 22 years at Palm Desert High School, Blackburn’s response: “No.”
Seeing his former player, a young man whose future was murky until the clarity of his dream outpaced the countless hours required to achieve it, actually achieve that which he sought, THAT was the most rewarding moment of the coach’s decades of coaching.
Meanwhile, back in the Chiefs’ locker room, the guy DJ Alexander is playing behind, Pro-Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson, says Alexander reminds him of himself.
“You can see his passion when he steps on the field,” Johnson said. “He’s a high-motor guy, but he’s also very smart. Most guys call him Little DJ and me Big DJ… the sky’s the limit for him.”
