Photo by James Nicholas.
Homewood senior Jaden Alexander (21) hasn’t been able to play this fall, but he still serves as the team’s “hype guy,” donning players with the “playmaker belt” after big plays.
After John Firnberg’s interception return for a touchdown in Homewood High School’s 34-7 win over Chelsea on Oct. 12, the Patriots linebacker was greeted on the sideline with the “playmaker belt.”
He was given the belt by one of Homewood’s best playmakers, Jaden Alexander, but a freak knee injury has robbed Alexander, a senior cornerback, of his final season.
Alexander, who is also a track star, tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during a 7-on-7 tournament at Spain Park in late June. He has recently been cleared to jog following his summer surgery, but Homewood’s only returning starter in the secondary had his season end before it started.
Now, Alexander is on the sideline in possession of the “playmaker belt.” Any time a Homewood player makes a big play, he gets to celebrate with the belt.
“Jaden, he’s our hype guy,” Firnberg said. “He’s always encouraging us. I’d love to have him out here with us, but it means a lot. He comes to every practice and every workout. He’s always around the team. It’s big.”
Alexander thought the injury wasn’t as serious because he was able to walk off the field under his own power. But an MRI showed the severity and, three days after the injury, Alexander had surgery on June 29.
“Of course, that first week was tough,” said Darryl Alexander, Jaden’s father. “After that, he was just straight focused on getting better. He had surgery on a Friday morning [performed by surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain] and was rehabbing the next day. Overnight he was down, but after that, he was strictly, ‘Get better and stronger.’”
Naturally, Jaden Alexander was down. It’s not right to have an injury cancel out your senior season. But he has a great support system.
“I know God has a reason of doing things,” he said. “I just knew that I could probably get through it. I get a lot of words of encouragement. I know if I rehab as much as I’m doing now, I can be back on the field collegiately or running track at the next level.”
The biggest words of affirmation came a few days later, when Alexander hosted a track coach from Brown University for an in-home visit.
“They were still on board with me and knew I would be back and healthy soon,” said Alexander, who anticipates participating in the spring outdoor track season for Homewood. “I knew if I kept working hard, colleges would still be with me.”
Alexander will still have options to compete at the next level. He is heavily considering Air Force and Navy for track and recently visited Birmingham-Southern for football. The possibility of playing both sports in college is still on the table.
So is the possibility of getting some snaps on the football field this season, if Homewood makes a deep playoff run. That’s reasonable, with the Patriots off to a 6-1 start, at the Homewood Star’s press time. Homewood has not reached the third round of the playoffs since 2006. Head coach Ben Berguson said Alexander could be cleared to “get some reps” by that point.
