Rutgers senior shares odd journey to starting role

The road to earning the full-time starting right tackle position took longer than all the other starters on the Rutgers football team’s offensive line, and the story is one of perseverance paying off. 

This story starts with a defensive lineman making the switch to right guard on the offensive line, and that’s just what happened to fifth-year senior right tackle Taj Alexander, who might just get lost in the mix of offensive linemen. 

An All-Pennsylvania selection on defense, breaking several Downington East High School records — including 17 sacks from the defensive tackle position — Alexander arrived at Rutgers in 2010 and redshirted. 

Alexander switched to the offensive side of the ball in the middle of his redshirt freshman season after playing in parts of one game defensively. 

When the 2012 preseason opened up, Alexander competed for the starting right guard spot, playing in 10 games before garnering the starting nod in the last three games to total four starts on the year. 

Last season, Alexander switched to right tackle, his third position in as many years, and was the main starter, playing in 12 games and starting four of the last five games after starting the first six. 

Finally, in his redshirt senior season, Alexander has found himself as the full-time starter at right tackle with stable job security. 

Alexander considers the uncertainty of his career and his commitment as a testament to his hard work and persistence. With his final home game approaching, Alexander now has some time to reflect on his career at Rutgers.

“It told me of my life that you can get anywhere with hard work,” Alexander said. “Starting a couple games two seasons ago, then you keep working and the next season you start a couple more games. Then this year being a full-time starter, it proves that everything in life is a process and you just have to keep working at it.”

The wealth of experience at so many different positions and roles over his five years has led to Alexander serving as a vital mentor to a variety of Knights, most notably on the offensive line.

This season, sophomore J.J. Denman has played a key role backing up Alexander and rotating in at the position, playing in all nine games and steadily increasing the amount of snaps he receives each game in relief of Alexander. 

Head coach Kyle Flood feels Alexander is as well suited as any Knight to play the role of a mentor with a less tenured guy earning experience behind him.

“[Alexander] plays the entire game as it is,” Flood said. “Taj has done a good job [in the right tackle rotation]. If you can keep the level of play consistent and get another guy experience, at some point you are going to need him and that experience will come in handy.” 

Another offensive lineman who has learned from Alexander is sophomore right guard Chris Muller. 

Alexander and Muller have anchored down the right side of the offensive line since last season, when both started going full time at in the trenches. As a former guard, Alexander has aided Muller in his transition from playing tackle in high school to a collegiate guard, Muller said.

“Taj has really been a tremendous help. He’s really been a veteran,” Muller said. “With him playing guard previously before this and then switching to tackle really helped me. He helped me learn fundamentals and he’s always been able to help to the best of his ability.”

Although the role of a mentor and a player who was trusted enough to switch positions to fill a need early on in his career would evoke strong characteristics at the end of someone’s career, Alexander wants to be remembered for something a little simpler. 

“I just want to be remembered as a guy who tried to do everything right,” Alexander said. “I want to be remembered as the guy who bought in and just put the program first. That’s what’s most important to me. If you have a bunch of guys who do that, then you know you are going to be successful on any level. If I’m remembered as that, then that means I kept the team foremost in my mind.”

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