LB Xe'ree Alexander commits to Sun Devils
Ultimately, Burien (Wash.) Kennedy Catholic linebacker Xe'ree Alexander decided to blaze his own path. Although his older brother, wide receiver Junior Alexander, spent just one year in Tempe, the younger Alexander, who naturally learned a lot about the Arizona State program through his brother's recruitment, decided to commit to the team.
“I love the atmosphere there, I love the coaches, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Alexander said. “Coach Herm is a fun guy to be around. I have such great talks with him. He helped me set up some goals for my senior year. I visited Arizona State plenty of times, and (during his own recruitment) I talk to (linebackers) coach Claiborne all the time. I visited there on my own this year too.
“I love the atmosphere and the defensive scheme, and that is what I want to be a part of. I love the way Coach Claiborne handles the recruiting process. He’s a great guy, and I love talking to him. I saw him again after I visited there at the Sacrament Camp (Sacramento State Mega Camp recruiting event). We have great talks, and he’s the type of person I want to be coached by.”
The linebacker’s familiarity with the program is deeper than any other ASU 2023 pledge to date due to the fact that his older brother did attend the school and left after one year and transferred to his hometown school, the University of Washington. Needless to say that the freshman-to-be feels that his experience in Tempe will be different and states that there are some objective reasons for that as well.
“I know people are going question me,’ your brother didn’t like get up there; why do you like it up there?’ But it was different for Junior, and it was also different for me,” Alexander explained. “He may not have liked it, but I like it.
“It was pretty hard seeing my brother go through that process. But he’s in a different position. He’s on offense, and I’m on defense. I feel like I have a better chance than he was there; it was hard for him that his wide receivers coach (Prentice Gill) was fired right after he got there. My brother told me that the players are cool and are great to be around them. The energy there is really good. He was homesick, and then what happened to his coach affected him a lot.”
In the spring, Alexander captured the co-MVP award at the Oakland ESPN 300 Elite Underclassmen Showcase. The linebacker said that Claiborne has been impressed with his length and playmaking abilities as an outside linebacker. “He likes how fast I can get to the ball,” Alexander commented. “I know how to read the offensive line, and I can play well in coverage. Coach Claiborne likes my size and wants me closer to 225, 230 lbs. when I get there. That’s the deal size he would want me at.”
ASU offered Alexander last November, and the linebacker was pursued by the Sun Devils’ in-state rival, which offered him in February and hosted him in Tucson in mid-June. In recent months, Idaho and Eastern Washington were also in close contact with Alexander, and the linebacker was receiving interest from Washington, Washington State, USC, Michigan State, and San Diego State, among others.
The Seattle-area LB is ASU's sixth pledge of the 2023 recruiting class and the fifth one on defense.
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