Immokalee’s Mackensie Alexander is ‘enjoying the process’ with Dolphins, return to Florida
After his second practice in Miami Gardens Wednesday, Mackensie Alexander shared a laugh with two people. The moment gave a snapshot of his football past and his possible football future.
On one side of him was former Minnesota Vikings and Dolphins general manager Rick Spielman. On the other side was current Dolphins GM Chris Grier.
In 2016, Spielman picked Alexander in the second round of the NFL Draft and he went on to spend five of his first six seasons in Minnesota. Injuries and depth concerns led the Dolphins to sign the 28-year-old on Aug. 15, creating a homecoming for the Immokalee native.
“It’s an amazing opportunity,” he said after Thursday’s practice. “I love it. I’m back home and I’m excited. My family’s excited. My friends are excited. I’m like an hour away from home, so this is amazing. I’m happy. I’m enjoying this. I’m in camp obviously, but I’m still enjoying the process.”
Alexander developed into a blue-chip recruit at Immokalee High School, about 100 miles northwest of Hard Rock Stadium in Collier County, with a work ethic that was handed down from his parents. The son of Haitian immigrants, he and his identical twin, Mackenro, would help their parents pick fruits and vegetables in the rural fields before dawn and then catch the bus for school.
In high school, Alexander not only played football but was a standout wrestler and sprinter. He was rated one of the country’s top defensive backs by his senior season and selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
“In South Florida, you’re going against top guys in the league,” Alexander said. “I went against a bunch of receivers that went to [Division I] ball or are in the league right now, too. ... You go up against a lot of top-tier talent. You get used to competing at a high level and going against top recruits and stuff like that. So, it became a custom down here.”
Alexander committed to Clemson, where he played for the Tigers for the next three seasons and alongside Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in 2015, culminating in an appearance in the national championship game, ultimately losing to Alabama.
“You already know his strengths. He’s a good player because he went to Clemson, so that’s No. 1,” Wilkins said. “I think he’s a veteran presence on this team now. He’s played a lot of ball, played a lot of good ball in the NFL. He’s a Florida boy. He’s going to come in and work. He’s a smart player. I was able to be around him for a year when we were in college together, and that’s one thing he always did was work hard and he always knew what to do. I can imagine he’ll bring a lot of the same things to us.”
Though a mid-training camp signing, Alexander has 25 career starts, a number that only trails Xavien Howard and Byron Jones on the team. Selected 16 spots after Howard in the 2016 Draft, Alexander, 5-10 and 192 pounds, has mainly lined up as a slot cornerback in the NFL. He could provide depth behind slot corner Nik Needham or potentially step into the nickel role if Jones, who remains on the physically-unable-to-perform list, is not ready for Week 1 and Needham has to move to the boundary.
“Everybody knows where [Alexander has] had his production from,” head coach Mike McDaniel said, “but ... every defensive scheme has their specific techniques. Sometimes, like for instance, we just played a team, Tampa Bay, where if you watched one-on-ones or whatever, they’re man-to-man coverage. They don’t necessarily re-route as much as our guys do. The reason why I say that is I’ll never be 100 percent committed to, ‘OK, this guy is only this,’ always leaving the options open fully knowing that he has experience. We watch tape, too, but we would rather, especially with that particular player, let him earn his keep. I wouldn’t want to say, ‘Hey, you can’t do something.’ We were just going for the best player, inside or outside, available and let the chips fall with that in his hands.”
Ahead of the Dolphins’ home preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, Alexander briefly reflected on the full-circle moment that’s developed for him. He recalled watching Dolphins games “week by week” and many of those games featured defensive backs Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison, who now coach him in the secondary.
“I want to get out and just compete and be the best teammate I can and come out and help my team win as best I can,” Alexander said. “Everybody has a goal they want to do individually but it doesn’t always work out like that. You’ve got to find your system and find your role and play it do what coach tells you to do and enjoy the process.”
