Jesse Alexander (born May 8, 1981) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. 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 ...

for the

Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to Laurier Golden Hawks, is the name used by the varsity sports teams of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University ...

. In 2004, he was named a second-year

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

all-star. The following year, Alexander helped the Golden Hawks win their second

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier, ...

. In 2006, Alexander became eligible for the

CFL Draft The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian Football League#Players and compensat ...

. Both the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and

expressed interest in signing Alexander. He was selected in the fifth round of the

2006 CFL Draft The 2006 CFL Draft took place on Thursday, April 20, 2006. 50 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic A ...

by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, but the Roughriders released him in their final cuts before the regular season. Despite an offer to join the Roughriders'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

, Alexander chose to return to Wilfrid Laurier and play out his final year of college eligibility. He was nominated for the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

, which is awarded to the best defensive player in Canada, and was also named an all-Canadian defensive player. Alexander was re-signed by the Roughriders in 2007, but again failed to earn a spot on the final roster. After being released by the Roughriders, Alexander signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and played his only two professional games in place of the injured

Raymond Fontaine Raymond Fontaine is a former professional Canadian football linebacker. He was drafted by the Argonauts in the second round of the 2005 CFL Draft. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats. Early years Fontaine was born on September 1, ...

before being released. In April 2008, he was picked up by the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

for training camp, but was released in mid-June. In 2007, Alexander returned to

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

as a linebacker coach for the Golden Hawks. He briefly left his coaching role to join the Blue Bombers, but returned to his position after being cut. May 2016, Alexander coached linebackers with the Golden Hawks. As of March 2017, Alexander became the special teams coordinator at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Jesse 1981 births Living people Canadian football linebackers Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football coaches York Lions football coaches