Vadal Alexander (born March 23, 1994) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

St. Louis Battlehawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at LSU. Alexander was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

in the seventh round of 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, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft ...

High school career

A native of

Buford, Georgia Buford is a city in Gwinnett and Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,144. Most of the city is in Gwinnett County, which is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan ...

, Alexander attended Buford High School, where he was a two-time Georgia AA First Team All-State offensive lineman as a junior and senior. In his senior season, the Buford Wolves went 14–1 and finished as GHSA Class AA runner-up, being upset in the state final by Calhoun. After his senior season, Alexander participated in the

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on Januar ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Alexander was ranked as the No. 11 offensive guard prospect in the class of 2012. Alexander chose Louisiana State over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, Auburn,

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

College career

In his

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

year at Louisiana State, Alexander played in 13 games. After an early season injury to starting left tackle

Chris Faulk Christopher Brook Faulk (born January 21, 1990) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played high school football at Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana and college football at LSU. He played in the 2009 U.S. Army All-Ameri ...

, Alexander moved into the starting line-up, playing every offensive snap of the final nine games at right tackle. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors by the league's coaches, and was named second team Freshman All-America by Scout.com. For his sophomore season, he replaced

La'el Collins La'el Collins (born July 26, 1993; pronounced ) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, where he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, recognizi ...

at left guard, who was moved over to left tackle. Alexander started all 13 games, and led the Tigers with 71 knockdowns on the season. In the Outback Bowl, he was on the field for 71 offensive plays and was credited with a career-high 13 knockdowns. As a junior, Alexander remained a mainstay at left guard next to Collins as left tackle, giving LSU one of the most dominating guard-tackle combinations in college football. Running behind Collins and Alexander, freshman running back Leonard Fournette registered 1,034 rushing yards on the season. After LSU's 30–27 win over

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, Alexander earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors. Alexander's streak of 32 straight starts snapped, however, when he missed the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

game in week 11 because of a hand injury. Forgoing the option to enter the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previo ...

, Alexander returned to LSU and was named Preseason First Team All-SEC. He was moved to right tackle, as previous right tackle Jerald Hawkins had to replace Collins on the left side. It was reported in June 2019 that Alexander's father, James, received approximately $180,000 from John Paul Funes, an LSU booster convicted in federal court of

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

after embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his employer, Our Lady of the Lake hospitals.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to his senior year, Alexander was considered one of the top senior prospects for the

. Alexander was invited to and played in the Senior Bowl in January 2016. Coming out of college, he was ranked as the second best offensive guard and projected to be selected in the second or third round. After the NFL Combine, Alexander was projected by the majority of analysts to be selected in the third or fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft and was ranked the seventh best offensive guard out of the 203 available by NFLDraftScout.com.

2016 NFL Draft

Alexander was selected by the Raiders in the seventh round, 234th overall, in the

. Many analysts were surprised by his drastic fall in the draft, as the majority of them had him projected as a second or third round selection. They said the steep fall in his draft stock likely came from not testing well at the combine and being seen as a prospect who better shows his talents in games. Scouts and teams also had concerns about his weight and conditioning.

Oakland Raiders

On May 9, 2016, the

signed him to a four-year, $2.41 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $76,846. He started his rookie season as the backup right guard to veteran

Gabe Jackson Gabriel C. Jackson (born July 12, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State. Early years A native ...

. Alexander made his regular season debut during the second game of the season in a loss against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

. On October 2, 2016, he made his first career start during a 28–27 victory over the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

after starting right tackle Austin Howard was unable to play due to an ankle injury. Howard's backup.

Menelik Watson Menelik Watson (born 22 December 1988) is an English former professional American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Early l ...

, was unable to play after he suffered an hamstring injury and the Raider's third backup right tackle option, Matt McCants, was down with a knee injury. Alexander was called for three holding penalties and a false start. He also started at right tackle the following game, for a Raider's win 34–31 over the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. On December 4, 2016, Alexander started the game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

at tight end. He was used as an extra blocker on the opening drive, with the Raider's defeating the Bills 38–24. The next game, he had his first official career start at right guard against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

after starting right guard

Kelechi Osemele Kelechi Keith Ayo Osemele (; ; born June 24, 1989) is an American football offensive guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa State. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and wa ...

was unable to play due to an illness that was later verified to be

kidney stones Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a calculus (medicine), solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the ...

. After having trouble with the Chief's defense during the first three snaps, head coach Jack Del Rio replaced him with veteran

Jon Feliciano Jon Feliciano (born February 10, 1992) is an American football center for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami. Early life Feliciano was born in East Meadow, New York. He is from ...

. They later rotated at right guard throughout the 13–21 loss to Kansas City. On May 1, 2018, Alexander was suspended the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He was waived by the Raiders on July 31, 2018, after failing to report to training camp.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Alexander was drafted by the Pittsburgh Maulers in the 22nd round of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season The 2022 USFL season is the planned inaugural season of the United States ...

. He was transferred to the team's inactive roster on May 6 with an

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

flare-up. He was moved back to the active roster on May 14. He was transferred to the inactive roster again on May 20, but moved back to the active roster the next day. He became a free agent when his contract expired on December 31, 2022.

St. Louis Battlehawks

On January 1, 2023, Alexander was selected by the

in the eighth round of the

2023 XFL Supplemental Draft The 2023 XFL Draft, is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL, and the second draft in that league's history following the 2020 draft. The draft was held on November 15–17, 2022, wit ...

. He re-signed with the team on January 23, 2024.

References

External links

NFL Combine profile

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Vadal 1994 births Living people People from Buford, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia American football offensive linemen LSU Tigers football players Oakland Raiders players Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) players St. Louis BattleHawks players Buford High School (Georgia) alumni