Senior defensive end Frank Alexander was ranked the No. 8 player at his position coming out of high school in 2007. Alexander had 176 tackles and 13 sacks his senior year, and college coaches across the country were excited about his combination of size and speed.

Rankings do not predict the future, though.

Sam Bradford was only a 3-star recruit when he came to OU, and he became a No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Rhett Bomar was rated as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, and he had an average career at Sam Houston State after he was kicked off the team at OU for accepting improper benefits.

For a more recent example, look at this year’s group of Sooner running backs. Walk-on junior Dominique Whaley leads all rushers on the team, and junior Jermie Calhoun decided to transfer. Calhoun was listed as the best back in the country by many his senior year of high school, but he saw limited action in the Sooner backfield during his career.

Setting the stage

Alexander has been far from a bust. After redshirting his freshman year in 2007, Alexander garnered All-Big 12 honorable mention honors in 2008, finishing the season with 26 tackles. In 2009, Alexander took over a starting role during the 10th game, replacing an injured Austin English. In 2010, he finished second on the team with 13 tackles for loss. He also started nine games, equaling the total from his first two seasons combined.

While Alexander has contributed valuable minutes for the Sooners, coming into this season he had not yet had a truly breakout year. He hadn’t reached the level of play week in and week out that warrants being remembered for decades.

In short, Alexander had not done what is necessary to leave a legacy as a Sooner.

His coaches say this fact has been the driving motivation behind the senior’s play this season.

“This is his last year,” defensive ends coach Bobby Jack Wright said. “He’s very motivated about the fact that he wants to have a great year, wants to have a breakout year. He wants to be somebody that people will remember as having been a really great football player at OU. I think that’s important to him, and I think that has elevated his game.”

Exuding toughness

Alexander said even though he does not feel like any of his seasons as a Sooner have been bad, he knows he can play better. The senior has been slowed at points in his career due to injuries. He has also experienced off-field distractions, such as when his father had a minor heart attack during his trip home after OU’s third game last season.

He said his father was having the heart attack while driving home to Louisiana. However, he made it back home and did not visit a doctor until the following Monday. While Alexander acknowledges how tough it was being away from his family in Louisiana with his father in such bad health, Alexander said his father had the same unwavering message he always has: Just hang tough.

“It was tough, but my dad, he’s a tough guy,” Alexander said. “He was telling me, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ and he was going to be all right.”

As a senior, Alexander has exuded that same toughness he learned from his father. He has been all over the field. Whether it is with a sack, batted ball, fumble recovery or interception, the senior has found a way to leave his mark in every game his team has played.

Making an impact

Now, halfway through this season, Alexander already has had his best year statistically. The senior has 30 tackles, including 9.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks. He also has four pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.

One of his best highlights of the season occurred during the first game, when the 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound defensive end intercepted Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne and returned the ball 27 yards.

Alexander also had his most dominant game of the season thus far on OU’s biggest stage. When the Sooners met the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry, Alexander was all over the field.

“He was fantastic,” coach Bob Stoops said after the game. “Look at the day he had. The guy had three sacks, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble, a batted pass. That’s a day, now, in a big game.”

Not only did Alexander prove he could produce a big-time performance on a national stage, he also showed his versatility against the Longhorns.

The Sooners used a new wrinkle in their defense in the Cotton Bowl, moving Alexander and fellow defensive end junior David King to the tackle positions to get more speed on the field.

It was no mystery to the Oklahoma coaching staff the senior had the athleticism to move around the field and still have an impact. They saw him in high school. Alexander played tight end and was ranked No. 31 in the country at the position.

Leading by example

Coaches say the biggest difference in Alexander’s play this year is not physical but mental. Wright said Alexander has the mentality of a leader this season.

“That has been Frank’s attitude, and he has shown that all during camp,” Wright said. “He has come out and shown that he can be a better leader. He’s picking up his game so that when he speaks, he’s got the credibility to make people listen.”

Alexander is making the most of his last year by using his dwindling time in crimson and cream to cement his legacy at Oklahoma. He has made multiple big plays in every game this season and is viewed as a leader by the rest of the defensive ends.

That being said, neither Alexander nor his coaches feel like he is a finished product yet.

Wright said the senior still has a lot to work on, but he has the work ethic to become great.

“There’s still a lot of things, technique-wise especially, that he needs to improve on, and he knows it,” Wright said. “He addresses it every day.”

Ask Alexander, and he will admit he still has work to do before he becomes the player he hopes to be. Like most true competitors, he does not want to be known just as a good player — he is striving to be great.

Although he has been hampered by injuries throughout his career, he said he is finally 100 percent this year.

Finally playing at full speed and determined to leave a lasting mark, Alexander said he has something to prove.

“The last few years, I haven’t been what I feel like I wanted to be,” Alexander said. “I haven’t had a bad year, but I knew I could be a lot better. So, just going out there every Saturday and trying to prove myself, that’s motivation.”