Alexander determined to make the most of chance with Alouettes
Published
Moments after he led the Montreal Alouettes to an improbable, second-half comeback over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Week 8, quarterback Davis Alexander was thinking of one person – his father, Matt.
“I just want to give a shout-out to my dad,” Alexander said on the field post-game, his voice cracking with emotion. “He’s battling cancer right now. We’re with him every step of the way. Love him to death.”
Alexander, a 25-year-old from Gig Harbor, Wash., who played college football at Portland State and has been with Montreal since 2022, led the Als’ offence to 17 unanswered points in the 20-16 victory. He completed his first 12 passes and finished the night with 15-of-18 for 178 yards and two touchdowns after replacing Caleb Evans to start the third quarter.
Evans got the start with Cody Fajardo on the six-game injured list. Fajardo has since resumed practising, but Alexander got the majority of first-team reps at practice on Wednesday and may get his first career CFL start on Friday in Hamilton.
Alexander said he owes much of his success to his dad, who was born in South Africa and was on the Springboks' under-21 national rugby team. He then moved to the U.S., where he played on the U.S. Eagles national rugby union team. Matt played professionally in England as well.
“My dad, he’s been there through everything for me,” Alexander said. “He didn’t miss many games when I was growing up. He coached me in Little League baseball…he’s just a great, great person.”
Matt had a profound impact on his son, always reminding him to “work his a-- off” as Davis tells it. He also constantly told his son to be good to others.
“Just treat people as you would want to be treated,” Davis said of his father’s words of wisdom. “Treat people with respect and things will work out well for you. I just remember him always telling me when I was little and you don’t really know what the world’s like, ‘Be nice to everybody. Always do the right thing.’ As supportive as he was about sports, he was definitely more worried about my character and how I treated people, rather than my impact on sports.”
Als general manager Danny Maciocia did his due diligence when scouting Alexander back in 2022. Maciocia was looking at film of NCAA quarterbacks and said he was drawn to Alexander’s movement in the pocket, ability to make wide-field throws, and willingness to use all his receivers.
“He also had the athletic ability, when he got flushed out [of the pocket], that he would be able to convert the down and distance with his feet,” Maciocia said.
Maciocia eventually made some calls to Alexander’s college coaches and opponents.
“Ultra-competitive, super competitive,” is what they all said, according to Maciocia. “Competes at everything he does.”
The Als have a pickleball court and ping-pong table at their practice facility in Saint-Léonard, Que. Alexander’s competitive streak in that facility is already the stuff of legend.
“At training camp, coach [Jason] Maas and I think [special teams coordinator] Byron Archambault] were playing doubles against Cody [Fajardo] and Davis,” Maciocia said, laughing at the memory. “We should have hired maybe TSN or RDS to be there to televise it. It was a thing of beauty.”
Als players were hoping that Alexander, who had attempted 21 passes combined the past two years, would eventually get his shot. They’ve seen him work hard over the past three years and rise from the practice roster to third-string to, now, someone Maas can comfortably throw in to a critical situation versus an elite opponent.
“He comes to practice ready to work,” receiver Reggie White Jr. said. “Never seen him complain. He’s always supporting us, even when he wasn’t playing. To see him finally get that attention from everybody is cool, but we all knew what he could do.”
Alexander credits White and his teammates for their support, talent, and mentorship. He emphasized that he’s grateful that the Als have been patient with him instead of throwing him under centre early on, but allowed that it’s “been a hard process.”
One of the first conversations he ever had with Fajardo in 2023 helped him get through the struggle.
“The hardest thing is not knowing when exactly that opportunity is going to come,” Alexander said. “One of the very first things [Cody] said when he got here is that you never know when your opportunity might come and if that’ll be your only opportunity. So, be ready for it.”