Alex Ronald Bayer (born November 8, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He is currently the special teams coordinator at Bowling Green. He was signed by the Rams as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Bowling Green.

High school career

Bayer had six school records at

Pickerington High School North Pickerington High School North is a public high school in Pickerington, Ohio. It is one of two high schools in the Pickerington Local School District. In the city of Pickerington, it is referred to simply as "North" and their mascot is the Panther. ...

, including 50 receptions for 625 yards and two touchdowns his senior season, where he earned honorable mention all-state and also earned first-team All-OCC and first-team all-central district. Ohio Magazine ranked him the 60th ranked recruit and third-best tight end from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, while

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...

ranked him as one of the top-75 tight ends in the nation.

College career

Bayer played in all 12 games, making four starts, during his redshirt freshman season. He was named to

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...

’s All-Freshman Team (Fifth Team) after recording 22 catches for 298 yards and one touchdown on the season. Played in and started all 12 games in 2011 and had 20 receptions for 242 yards and two touchdowns on the year. He finished 2012 with 36 receptions for 410 yards and three touchdowns. He was named to John Mackey Mid-Season Watch List and was named Third-team All-MAC. During his senior season, Bayer played in and started all 14 games, catching 37 passes for 593 yards and 4 touchdowns. Was named third-team All-MAC as a tight end and played in the East-West Shrine Game in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, following the season.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Bayer was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

after going undrafted in

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played in six games during the 2014 season, recording one fumble recovery. On September 5, 2015, Bayer was released from the St. Louis Rams.

San Diego Chargers

On September 6, 2015, the San Diego Chargers signed Bayer to their practice squad. On December 9, 2015, Bayer was placed on PS-Injured Reserved and eventually cut ending his short lived NFL career.

Coaching career

Otterbein

Following his playing career, Bayer joined the

Otterbein Cardinals football Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...

staff as a graduate assistant coaching the tight ends for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He graduated in April of 2019 with his Master's degree in teaching.

Wake Forest

After his graduation from Otterbein, Bayer reunited with his college coach,

Dave Clawson David Paul Clawson (born August 16, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the head football coach at Wake Forest University, where he was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year. Clawson previously served a ...

. Bayer joined the Wake Forest staff as a special teams analyst, working closely with the Deac's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, Wayne Lineburg.

Valparaiso

Bayer spent the 2021 season as the special teams coordinator at Valparaiso. His special teams led the nation in blocked kicks, with nine.

Bowling Green

In January of 2022, Bayer returned to his alma mater, Bowling Green, after being hired by

Scot Loeffler Scot Loeffler (born November 1, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Bowling Green State University. He formerly served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. He was ...

as the Falcons' special teams coordinator.

References

External links

Bowling Green Falcons bioSt. Louis Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayer, Alex 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Ohio American football tight ends Bowling Green Falcons football players St. Louis Rams players San Diego Chargers players