Dominique E'Shay Alexander (born April 20, 1995) 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 wi ...

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, ...

who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma. He signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

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 2016.

Early years

Alexander attended Booker T. Washington High School in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. While in high school, he played for the Hornets football team. He was considered a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and committed to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

to play college football.

College career

As a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2013, Alexander played in all 13 games and started eight. He was named the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

Defensive Freshman of the Year after recording 80 tackles and a sack. As a sophomore, he started all 13 games and had a team-leading 108 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He again started all 13 games his junior year and again led the team in tackles with 103 while also recording a sack and an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

. After the season, he entered the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

Professional career

Coming out of college, Alexander was projected as a fifth or sixth round selection and ranked as the eight best inside linebacker by NFLDraftScout.com. He was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the broad jump, vertical, and bench press but did not participate in any running drills due to an injury. On March 9, 2016, he attended Oklahoma's Pro Day and was able to complete the running drills required but stood on his combine numbers in the drills he completed there. While many scouts gave him positive reviews for his running ability, tackling, talent in man coverage, and his speed many discounted him for his size, strength, issues getting off blocks, and his lack of instinctual ability. After going unselected in the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

, Alexander signed with the

on May 5, 2016. On May 5, 2016, the Cleveland Browns signed Alexander to a three-year, $1.61 million contract. Alexander entered training camp battling for a position as a backup inside linebacker with veterans

Justin Tuggle Justin DuJian Tuggle (born January 4, 1990) is an American former Canadian football linebacker. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Kansas State. Tuggle is the son of former fiv ...

Tank Carder Ricky "Tank" Carder Jr. (born January 18, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. Carder played college football at TCU. He was a 2010 All-American selection by the American Football Coaches Association. Early life When he was 10 year ...

, and rookie Scooby Wright. Alexander entered the regular season as the backup left inside linebacker behind

Demario Davis Demario Davis (born January 11, 1989) is an American football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football a ...

. He played in 14 games primarily on special teams, recording seven tackles. On October 3, 2017, Alexander was placed on injured reserve. On May 3, 2018, Alexander was waived by the Browns.

Personal life

Alexander was raised by his parents, Derrick Alexander Sr. and Nicole Holman-Alexander. His father player college football at

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and his brother, Derrick Alexander Jr. currently plays defensive lineman at

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He also has a son.

References

External links

NFL Combine profileOklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Dominique 1995 births Living people African-American players of American football American football linebackers Cleveland Browns players Oklahoma Sooners football players Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma 21st-century African-American sportspeople