His daddy wasn’t roommates with his quarterback’s daddy and he’s not roommates with his quarterback.
So it’s not Jordan Shipley.
And he didn’t lie to the NCAA, so he’s still playing football.
So it’s not Dez Bryant.
It’s Danario Alexander.
Seriously.
Yes, Alexander was a relative unknown coming into this season, which explains his absence from the list of Biletnikoff semifinalists. (Because you can’t make the finals without first being in the semifinals). But at the same time, when the semifinalists were announced on October 26th, Syracuse’s Mike Williams was on the list, and he was in the process of quitting the team. Minnesota’s Eric Decker was also on the list, and he was hurt the game before the list came out. He hasn’t played since. The same goes for San Diego State’s Vincent Brown, who hasn’t had a catch since October 17th thanks to injury.
So yes, the 2009 Biletnikoff Award is completely irrelevant.
How irrelevant?
Finalist #1: 93 catches, 1496 yards, 15 TDs
Finalist #2: 99 catches, 1292 yards, 12 TDs
Finalist #3: 138 catches, 1551 yards, 16 TDs
Alexander: 107 catches, 1644 yards, 13 TDs
Finalist #2, sorry, you’re out. Your yards per catch is too low, and your two big games came against Louisiana Monroe and Central Florida (a combined 19 catches and 453 yards). Sorry Shipley, you’re out. And if you weren’t Colt McCoy’s roommate (or played at Texas for that matter) you wouldn’t be so highly regarded.
Same with you, finalist #3. Your YPC is the lowest of the four, and you did your damage against the MAC (22 catches for 278 yards and three TDs against Kent State). When you played Missouri and Boise State, you had 14 catches for a paltry 94 yards.
That leaves finalist #1–Golden Tate–and Alexander, and an argument can be made for either one as the best receiver in the country. Tate has caught a TD pass in all but two of Notre Dame’s games, has one more 100 yard receiving day than Alexander and has a slightly better YPC (16.1 to 15.4). Alexander has gotten better as the season has gone on, breaking the 200 yard barrier in three of the last five games, and grabbing 10 or more catches in each of the final four games, including 15 catches for 233 yards against Kansas yesterday.
Tate will probably be a first round pick, given that he’s likely to leave after this season, and the same should be said for Alexander. While I realize this is ridiculous comparison, if there’s a receiver that Alexander can be compared to, it’s Randy Moss. Both Alexander (6-5, 215) and Moss (6-4, 210) have the same body type, and while Moss was faster coming out of school, Alexander has legitimate 4.4 speed and has shown the ability to break away from defenders on many of his long scoring catches.
The only knock on Alexander’s pro potential is the fact that he’s already had three knee surgeries, which, along with a broken wrist, limited his career production and his name recognition. (It’s a little known fact that Alexander had beaten out Jeremy Maclin for a starting job in 2007, but Alexander broke his wrist in the Illinois game) However, he’s shown no ill effects from the knee surgeries in 2009, and says that he’s only continued to wear the knee brace because of his 132 yard game against Illinois.
Yeah, I’m biased, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Alexander belongs at the forefront of the conversation for college football’s best receiver. However, I’d be willing to bet good money that Jordan Shipley overshadows Alexander when it comes time for the All-American awards. Who doesn’t love a good story about roommates?
