Shaun Alexander, Former MVP Running Back

What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd, I want to know. Tails without fur on them?

Such as rats or opossums? I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear.

I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real-time updates on everything you care about. Miss your show?

Jump back with our awesome re-wide feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand. Wherever you are, whenever you want. And do we mention it's all free?

Download the Odyssey app today. It is the Zach Gelb Show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Let's chat a little Alabama as they have a big matchup against LSU this weekend and some Seahawks as well. Seattle surprised a lot of people.

They're sitting in at five and three and they have the Arizona Cardinals this weekend out in the desert. And now joining us is a man that started Alabama. Did win a league MVP with the Seattle Seahawks and that is Sean Alexander.

And tomorrow, the Sean Alexander semifinalist for freshman player of the year is going to be announced. Sean, always great to hear your voice. How you been? Brother, I'm doing good, man. How you doing? Well, I'm doing fantastic.

Can't complain. So we're coming up on the 26th anniversary of your 1996 freshman year. And everyone remembers that game against LSU when you had over 290 rushing yards and four touchdowns. All these years later, what's the memory still that lives in your mind from that game?

At night was was so amazing. You know, I always remember Montoya Madden, the sophomore fourth-string running back and me being the third-string running back. We're 19 years old playing video games the night before because there's no way in the world when eight, nine, Bama, LSU play each other that we're either getting on the field. And I remember the coach saying, Alexander, you're in. And my first game was a 17-yard touchdown run right before halftime.

And Montoya's looking at me like, I hate you. You mean, we stayed up for three in the morning. We're playing video games and you go out there, you score a touchdown and everybody's gonna be like, oh, Sean, that's great. And I said, you know what? I used to get in grooves like this, nights like this. And I'd just be killing me. You should have saw me when I was in Kentucky. We're laughing at halftime before Coach Stallings, who's the legendary coach that doesn't even, before he walks into the thing to give us the talk.

And we're laughing about this, like, oh, man, it's like after I'd be killing it. And then all of a sudden, the third quarter, they put me back in the game. And I thought, holy cow, this is really Bama, LSU. And 291 yards later, it was just a night to remember, man. It was wonderful.

You have one 70 something yard touchdown in the game. That's impressive. You had two, like, how the heck did you process that in the moment with all that you just said? Yeah, it was, it was happening so fast.

Both in the third quarter. You know what I mean? So I come back out and that's like my sixth and tenth carry of the game. And it's, it's just on. And so, you know, they were telling us how the whole week you got Boogie McFarland.

He was their all American defensive tackle. You know what I mean? You got all these great linebackers you're going to get. They're like, hey, cover the ball. If we get, you know, there's going to be those two inches in a cloud of dust. And I'm like, okay, here it is. Hey, just strap up and you're going to be banging.

And I'm cutting back on a hole. And I'm running down the sideline for 60 and 70 yard runs. It was crazy. It was crazy. It's always wild to me with athletes and you were supposed to have a big time NFL career and you did so how unexpected success still occurs when you have so much greatness in your body, like this story that you're telling right now.

Yeah, you know, and the thing is, is we all play the game of, of being disrespected. You know, so here I am, you know, my, my closest friends, you know, there wasn't no cell phones in the, in the nineties for everybody, especially the black kids in the inner cities. So here you have, you have my closest friends. I would go on these trips with Charles Woodson, Mr. Ohio, Randy Moss, Mr. West Virginia. Hey, what game you going to? Oh, yeah.

Oh, how would you play this week? Oh, okay. Yeah. Cool. Hey, maybe we'll see each other, man. We won't. Hey, man, that'd be cool if we all went to the same school, man.

We will. There was no cell phones. You didn't connect with anybody. And so when that year ends and I'm named a high school player of the year by this thing called ESPN, that we didn't even really know what it was, you know what I mean? Like it's just totally, it's a totally different game with the kids now have in the relationships that they have and what they think about themselves and their talents. I always felt like, man, I'm not getting the respect that I'm supposed to get. They're like, you're from Kentucky. You want me that good.

You know what I mean? And now they're like, oh, this person was five stars. This person was great. So you play the game of I'm so disrespected.

Let me go prove you wrong. And that's what everybody does. And so it was just a lot easier to do it back in the day. So it was always a surprise to go out there and be great.

Not surprised that you did it, but it was a surprise like, hi, here, I told you, you know what I mean? And so that was the game that people played mostly back in the day. What was the difference in your decision on why you wanted to go to Alabama? Ah, man, you know, I wanted to play for a great school. So my top three was Alabama, Michigan, and Notre Dame.

So those were three winning this program. At the time, I wanted to play for an iconic coach. And so Lou Holtz was at Notre Dame. And my older brother, Duran, he had academic scholarship to Notre Dame. So Notre Dame had an edge. But I was the typical little brother. So I used to be the diehard Michigan fan. And I told Desmond Howard all the time, you know, he almost had me go there as a middle school kid just watching him play, you know, and, and, but when I went up to Michigan, it was the middle of a blizzard that they had.

And I thought, man, timing, I don't, I don't do blizzard. And, and then Notre Dame, I, I love Lou, but I just felt like he was about to leave. I'm gonna have some time you just get that feeling.

He's not gonna be here, you know. And then I go down there and Jean's like Lou, bigger personality life runs the whole program. It's tough, the tough love and, and he demands guys to be greater than they are. And I was like, okay, then I, I didn't even know that Bama had all the national championships. I mean, that's how much I did not know about the school. But I knew that they understood what greatness look like. And I was like, I want to be a part of that.

And so, so yeah, it just hit me. And I loved seeing, you know, even back then, that the best players from their states all coming there to go see if they were the best in the world or in the country at that time. And, you know, you've seen the best running back from Tennessee and the best running backs from Alabama already there a couple of years older, man. I'm like, I can get those guys, you know, like, that's still the mantra of Alabama. They go get the best players and see what happens. And the practices were super intense and super competitive.

And then, then the, the best man usually stands at the end. And so you ever got to wait the turns, you know me, so, you know, even my great freshman year, didn't start any games my freshman year at all the yards, you know, and, and, and seven or eight touchdowns and, and no starts, you know, that's just how it worked, you know. So what you're telling me, Sean Alexander, if you visited Michigan in the big house, if it was like 75 and sunny that day, you would have been a Wolverine?

I'm telling you, if it was 75 and sunny, people would have saw 30 quarterback, Tom Brady, starting running back, Sean Alexander, starting wide receiver, Charles Woodson. Wow. That's crazy. That's, that's wild.

Because it just shows you like, it just shows you what recruits are looking for when they go on a visit. And one bad weather day means Sean Alexander's out on being a Wolverine. I love that.

Yeah, I mean, I remember Fred Jackson was the running back coach. And he said, Hey, Sean, can I just tell you something? I thought for sure you would tell us you want to sign this week. I was like, I know.

It's not weird. I just think I'm gonna think about it. He's like, don't you leave and not sign with us. So he's like, don't you go somewhere? He's like, where are you going next week? Alabama. I said, yeah, I really give an album that much of a look, but it's like I should. I went down there and I loved it.

I loved everything about it. What a story. Sean Alexander here with us on the Zach Gelb show. So big game this weekend for Alabama up against LSU. LSU is getting hot this time of the year, and they're, they're trending in the right direction.

How concerned do you, I know you're going to the game. How concerned are you with Alabama? Because they haven't looked like the machine that has been Alabama of years past and they still only have one loss of the year. Yeah, you know, I'm not concerned because of LSU being so good or Alabama being so bad.

I'm just not concerned because it's the bunch of still young men figuring themselves out and figuring out how to go be great. And, and so I just love the challenge for Alabama. You know, this game is always special.

Alabama takes it very seriously. And this is one of those things that we like when teams are trending hot because that's where, that's what we want to play against. We want to play against teams at their best. And then also I just always remind people, we know Bama did not play their best games that third Sunday, the third Saturday in October. We know they didn't play their best game and yet we miss a 50 yard field goal. And then the other team hits their long field goal and they beat us by three and the whole world is shook. We're like, wait, this is still football. Like we could play them again and we're not scared of that.

You know, I shouldn't be surprised about it, Sean, but it really is incredible. Every time Alabama loses and we went with this with the Patriots as well. It's, is this the end for Nick Saban? Is the Alabama dynasty over after one loss? It's crazy how it's talked about. Yeah. One loss by three after we just missed a long field goal and they made a long two.

Come on, what are we talking about here? Like we're going to be okay and we're going to play Bama football and it's going to, it's going to be in these great games that are classic LSU, Auburn, SEC championship. That's just what we do. And so it's, it's just going to be great to kind of, you know, add to the fabric of the Alabama tradition. And Bryce Young looks like he's going to be a star in the NFL.

Yeah. He's a special play. He's got a special mind. You know, I was talking with Trent Richardson and both Scarborough just yesterday, just about the history of Alabama and the running backs and how they have really upgraded the quarterbacks and what they allowed the quarterbacks to do over these last decades.

You know, the last four guys were just amazing, including Bryson. And so Bryce is just, he's special, man. He, he understands the game. He understands what he wants to do. The coaches try to put him in a position to use all of his gifts. And you know, I think, honestly, if he didn't get hurt and then they, and he beat Tennessee, he can be back to back.

And so it's still out there. He's just going to have to be phenomenal, but, but he's a special talent. And I'm also really happy for Jalen hurts too, who was at Alabama, got replaced by two and then had to help them out of that SEC title game when two had got hurt, had some success as a Heisman finalist at Oklahoma. It's good to see Jalen hurts. Really, like you said, continue to prove the doubt is wrong with what he's doing with the Eagles.

Yeah. We're not surprised by Jalen. I just, it's just, it's just competition and that this is a part of Alabama's way. No one in their mind would be like, Oh, Jalen's terrible. We're just like, it just happens that at the same time he's there, so was Tua, you know what I mean? And so like, like, no one's going to be like, Mack Jones was terrible. No, it's just the same time that Mack was there. So was Jalen and so was Tua, you know what I mean?

So he only got to play one year really. And so like, that's, that's just a part of the Alabama fabric. You got to be knit to be able to hang on and fight the scrap to get on the field because we know greatness is in you when you get out there. Well, I will tell you that something you are surprised about. I know you just went into the ring of honor. Congratulations with the Seahawks. You would have, you would have never thought in a million years we'd be sitting here week nine of the season.

The Seahawks would be five and three, right? Oh, man. I'm really proud of Gino. Really proud of Gino. That is a surprise. You know, like, it's crazy. Just even like his story, he's leading the league in completion percentage.

I know. And it's, it's wild. And, and then you see Kenneth Walker back there, you know, dot in the eye, you know, he's playing great as a rookie. He's got a shot to win rookie of the year. Like you look at all that together and the defensive players are just playing lights out and we've had some guys get injured.

The backup comes in and he looks like he's going to be a superstar. You're like, what is going on out there? I'm just proud of the guys. Holy shit. Now that I am shocked with, you know, really like, you know, no one would have thought that they'd be in first place and really in a great control of their future.

You know, it's, it's pretty cool. I love Kenneth Walker at Michigan State. He looks like he's going to be a stud with what he's done the last few weeks.

I do too, man. Like he's always, he keeps his shoulder square. He gets up and down the field. Like he, he knows how to make the extra, you know, I call almost like the squeeze yards, you know what I mean? Like you almost talk to tackle it and you kind of twist the shoulder, put your hand down and you get like two or three more yards and he just consistently falls forward to be like, you know, he's not like, you know, Derek Henry, you know what I mean? But, but he, he uses like his, everything he's got an explosion to gain the extra yards and man, and then when some guy misses, it's, it's out the gate, you know, it's pretty awesome to watch.

Here's the lesson for me. When I look at the Seahawks, it just shows you the power of belief with the football team, Shawn Alexander, because those guys saw their coach get dragged and they believe in their coach. And now they're given a lot of people, the middle finger through the first half of the season. 100% laughing with a big belly, you know what I mean? Because I mean, like, you know, at the end of the day, if your coach says, man, like they think this is a rebounding year, there's no such thing as rebounding year in the NFL. Everybody's got a job. You're a pro.

Go to work. And the Seattle guys have come in there and they have done more than what we expected. And at the same time, they have, what was it, what did the coach, coach for the Cardinals dentist? We are who they thought we were. He's like, hey, we are who you think we are, you know, he's like, you know, like, he's like, they're standing strong and they're telling coach, yeah, coach, you believe in us.

We are who you think we are, you know, it's wonderful. And Russell Wilson has been miserable with the Broncos. You think he regrets his decision because that Broncos situation looks like it's a disaster right now.

No, I don't think so. And, and yeah, you know, I'm close to Russ, just like I am with Gino and, and, and the guys that are here in Seattle now, you know, I think that Seahawks and Russ were ready to go because when you build something for a decade, you kind of know how it all rolls. You know what I mean? If they're like, Hey, how we all do this ain't going to really win us games.

We need something fresh. That's called creative destruction, right in the business room. You kind of break stuff up just to go make sure that you can create some success. And that was a part of it for, for the Seahawks. And I think that for us now, it's kind of like going and playing with a new team without any really practice, any really training camp, any really OTAs.

So he's figuring that out on the go. And, and, and how a person could say something, you could be like, Hey Sean, like, Hey, you know, do the flicks, right? Well, when I went to Seahawks, that could be one thing.

But when I was with Alabama, that can mean something else, right? So now how you catch lingo and people's reactions and stuff, they're all trying to figure that out. And they just have to figure it out with live bullets. They don't, they didn't have the, the time of OTAs and mini camps and training camps to go free it out. So that's why it looks so terrible because we're expecting a decade season with the same kind of cooking chefs to be out there with a fresh dish, a fresh coach, fresh receivers, you know, and this is still the NFL.

It doesn't come off as smooth all the time. Now you take a person like Gino, we never knew what it was going to happen. No one did. And so that's what the freshers would look like. It was fresh for everybody. Russell had to get out of his mind of it needs to look like what I was doing in Seattle. You know what I mean?

And, and I think as they all do that, they're going to be okay. So you're, you're going to hand out the fifth, Sean Alexander, freshman player of the year, the semifinalists are going to be announced tomorrow. Your previous winners, Trevor Lawrence, Kenneth Gainwell, Will Anderson Jr. and Brock Bowers. Tell me about the award a little bit.

Oh man. So, you know, it all started actually with the Football Writers Association. One of the beat writers, Michael Griffin, who was in charge, he was a Football Writers Association president. He was, when I was a freshman, he was an Alabama beat writer. He's went on to Georgia, Michigan, Michigan state. And, and so he called me up and said, Hey, would you help me?

This must have been like seven years ago. Hey, would you help me pick out the freshman team? You know, love to be about football, you know, definitely retired, retired. And I was like, yeah, that'd be cool.

I'll get back to the game. You know, so we're watching teams and talking, many great conversations. And then we picked out the all American team and it was a lot of fun. And then the next year he says, we're thinking about naming the award after somebody, somebody that would just be a great name. And he said, you know, and Mike, the white man, but he was like, I would love to be an African American that could really carry on the football legacy, but be like a great guy, a great guy that had great talent and we knew it. And so I said, yeah, let me think about who that could be. And he was like, Sean, it's you.

So super honored, super, super inspired. And, and that next year, we, we kind of wrote out a couple of things. And we wrote out these four words, talent, talent had to jump off the screen.

Like you watch me your life. That guy's amazing. We call the word legend. So Nina, so if you're a legend, that means that you were, you played in the games, you were a good enough player. And so we said, does this person have the possibility to be a legend?

In other words, they look like they could be a pro one day. So that's the second word. The third word is character. You know what I mean? Like, so me being so young, we always say like, gosh, you know, we can't have a guy that's just a turd because I'm still in the forties.

You know, we like, you know, I'm still young enough where if they do bad, my name is going to be mentioned with it everywhere. So, so we have to have a guy to have some character. And, and the last word is the word ambassador. And ambassador just means somebody speaks on behalf of. And so is this kid an ambassador for the university? Can we go up to the school and say, Hey, hey, would you let this young man speak on behalf of Clemson Trevor Lawrence? Yes. You know, Memphis, Kenneth Gainesville? Yes. Alabama, Will Anderson? Yes. Georgia Brock Dowers?

Yes. So we found four guys that fit those categories. Their talents amazing. They look like they'd be pro guys. We had two of them already there. They have great character.

And, and at the same time, they are ambassadors for their universities. And that's how we picked up the, the guys in this that we feel like we've been four for four. And we've got a great list of 14 fab 14. That's what I call the semifinalist.

We've got 14 great freshmen that have potential to win, to win this award for the fifth. Well, awesome stuff. Always appreciate the time. We always have a blast when you join us. Thanks so much for coming on and giving us some time today again. No doubt, brother.

Thank you. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows, follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show. Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football, live and on demand, wherever you are, whenever you want. And do we mention it's all free?

Download the Odyssey app today. Is there something really absurd that skews you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake. I'm gonna leak ocular fluid on my cheeks.

It's gonna go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from.