Alexander was born in Galveston, Texas. He played football at Ball High School, where his role as a player was primarily as a blocking back. As a result, opportunities to show his ability were limited; he did not manage 1,000 yards in his entire prep career and was only recruited by a handful of colleges.
College career
Alexander was recruited to LSU by running backs coachJerry Stovall. He later recalled that Stovall offered him trust and a real chance to be a big-time running back. "As soon as I got here, I knew it was the place for me." Alexander joined Hall of Fame coach Charles McClendon's LSU Tigers football team as a freshman in 1975. He played his first two seasons backing up All-SEC running back Terry Robiskie. He rushed for 1,177 yards total in those two seasons, including 876 yards in his sophomore year. Alexander became the Tigers' starting running back in his junior season in 1977. Against Oregon, he scored four touchdowns and set a school record by rushing for 237 yards. For his performance he was named United Press International Back of the Week. His 1,686 rushing yards that season helped carry LSU to an 8–3 regular season record and a trip to the Sun Bowl. In that game, Alexander set two Sun Bowl rushing records, carrying 31 times for 197 yards as he received Offensive Player of the Game honors. Despite Alexander's efforts—for which he was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team—LSU fell to Stanford 24–14. Alexander's workload dropped in his senior season in 1978, as the Tigers' offense became more balanced with fellow future LSU Athletic Hall of FamerDavid Woodley at quarterback. He and Woodley led the team to another 8–3 record. Toward the end of the season, Alexander was drawing comparisons to NFL running back Earl Campbell due to his "unique, slashing running style." He played his last game as a Tiger in the 1978 Liberty Bowl, in which he rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries in a 20–15 loss to Missouri. His accomplishments in an LSU uniform led fans to refer to him affectionately as "Alexander the Great." In each of his final two seasons with the Tigers, Alexander was selected as a consensus All-American and earned All-SEC honors. The 1977 campaign also saw Alexander selected as the SEC Most Valuable Player by the Nashville Banner. During his college career Alexander set nine SEC records, tied another and set 27 LSU records. He finished his LSU career with 4,035 rushing yards—over 1,500 yards more than the Tigers' previous career rushing yards leader. His 1,686 rushing yards total and 153.3 yards per game in the 1977 season stood as LSU single-season records until the 2015 season, when both were surpassed by Leonard Fournette.
Alexander was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 1979 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent the majority of his professional career backing up Pro Bowl running back Pete Johnson, while also splitting carries with former Heisman winnerArchie Griffin. His most productive season came in 1980, during which he played in all 16 regular season games and carried the ball 169 times for 702 yards. He played a prominent role during the Bengals' run in the 1981 playoffs. In their divisional round win against the Buffalo Bills, Alexander rushed for 72 yards and scored two touchdowns. He is one of four Bengals players to score multiple touchdowns from scrimmage in a single postseason game, as well as the first to do so. He rushed for 22 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards in the Bengals' win over San Diego in the infamous "Freezer Bowl." "Everything on the sidelines froze: the players, the water, the Gatorade, everything," said Alexander about the game conditions. In Super Bowl XVI, he carried five times for 17 yards while catching two passes for three yards in the Bengals' loss to the 49ers. Alexander finished his career with 2,645 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while adding 165 receptions for 1,130 yards and two touchdowns.
