Keep playing: Sandusky's Alexander moves forward from injury to early enrollee at Michigan State

Ja'Vez Alexander scanned the locker room and took a deep breath.He knew he wasn't coming back for Sandusky's first-round playoff game on Nov. 3 vs. Clyde at Strobel Field.But he wasn't going to miss one last chance to try and motivate his team.The senior quarterback had gone down with a serious leg injury shortly before, and was headed across the street to Urgent Care at Firelands Regional Medial Center.But before walking out of the locker room, Alexander instinctively grabbed a marker and wrote on the smart board in front of him, 'keep playing.'"I knew I wasn't going to be back even if they did win, so I just wanted to cheer them on and be positive for them still," Alexander said. "It was a final opportunity to try and motivate my teammates."The whole night seemed like a cruel twist of fate to one of the more accomplished football players not only at Sandusky — but in all of Ohio.On Wednesday, it was announced Alexander had finished third in the voting for Ohio's prestigious Mr. Football award. Past winners include the likes of Robert Smith, Charles Woodson and Mitch Trubisky to name a few.But after being the main cog in a 10-0 season — the best record by a Blue Streaks team in 27 years — Alexander got rolled up on a tackle early in the playoff game vs. Clyde.Thinking nothing of it, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound three-year starter went back to the huddle and planned to proceed. But on the next play, he attempted a deep pass to teammate Keith Williams — and that was it."I felt a tingle, like a prickling feeling in my leg," Alexander said. "It really honestly didn't hurt, but it didn't feel normal."The news was brutal. Alexander had a small crack in his right fibula bone, and had damaged a ligament in his ankle.Suddenly the three-star Michigan State recruit — set to early enroll in January — was facing surgery and two months of recovery."They did the surgery on Nov. 9 to repair the ligament, and they put a plate over the fracture," Alexander said. "I'm looking at about eight weeks in a walking boot total."He had figured the injury wasn't that big of a deal. Until his follow-up appointment revealed the ligament damage had shifted the ankle joints, and surgery was coming."I genuinely didn't think it was that bad … I'm going through my head just thinking, 'it's fine, I'll be back,'" Alexander said. "But then when you hear about surgery and eight weeks, that's when reality smacked me."However, what separates Alexander as one of the state's elite players wasn't the 2,300-plus all-purpose yards and 30 TDs for the Blue Streaks. It's his reaction to the injury. He allowed himself less than a day to mope, and speculated it wasn't even that long."It's just the confidence I have in overcoming something," he said. "Yeah, I got hurt. But tell me what I can do about it? I can do exactly what the doctors tell me and get back to work as soon as I can. Just fight through it."Alexander will head to East Lansing, Mich. for a visit on Dec. 8. Nothing has changed in his plans to early enroll in January.But his decision to early enroll in itself speaks to Alexander's big picture.Being among seven finalists for Mr. Football is a pretty big deal. But guess what is a bigger deal to Alexander?"I've exceeded a 4.0 GPA finally," he said. "It's my favorite accomplishment. I've been taking AP classes and my GPA is 4.125 right now, which I believe is No. 5 in the class. But it's always been academics over sports for me. Always a point of pride."Comments like that is where the separation from good to elite begins for Alexander. Sandusky football coach Mike Franklin has a lifetime of highlights of him making plays on the field."But it's more of what went on behind the scenes," Franklin said. "The things he does off the field are as impressive as what he did on the field. The extra work, leadership, volunteering in the community … they just don't come much better."A key starter on last season's basketball team that reached the Sweet 16, Alexander struggled with the decision to skip his senior year of hoops to head to Michigan State early.That's when Sandusky hoops coach Colin Irish — a former professional basketball player in his own right — stepped in.Did Irish want to lose Alexander? Of course not. But the longtime coach knows he's too special to hold back."You don't replace someone like that," Irish said. "He's a leader in the school and a great example how you want every student-athlete to behave. You can never replace a light like that."Irish recalls taking Alexander and several of his basketball teammates to a leadership conference when they were freshmen."We're in the car on the way back, and he's arguing not about who will score most points, but about who will get the highest score on the test," Irish said. "Ja'Vez never lost focus on being a student-athlete and being one of the best."So through all the accolades and now the injury, Alexander has kept the same mental mindset. It will be what helps him when the three-star recruit arrives to East Lansing to begin his conversion from QB to wide receiver for the elite Big Ten program — while of course focusing on Civil Engineering."I'm always going to be hard working and give it my all," Alexander said. He is expected to be ready by spring practice as long as everything goes well."Going up there is what's best for me," he added. "It will be challenging to switch positions, but I'm mentally ready to move forward."Sandusky's Ja'vez Alexander fights for yardage during a Nov. 3 Division III first-round playoff game vs. Clyde.Sandusky's Ja'Vez Alexander is helped off the field after injuring his right leg during a Nov. 3 playoff game vs. Clyde.Clyde's Josh Jenne and John Loparo congratulates an injured and emotional Ja'Vez Alexander, Sandusky's quarterback, at the end of a Nov. 3 playoff game at Strobel Field. Cross town rivals Sandusky and Perkins meet on Strobel Field for the last regular season game on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Cross town rivals Sandusky and Perkins meet on Strobel Field for the last regular season game on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.