When Kelly Poppinga arrived in Provo for his second stint as a BYU assistant coach, he wasn't shy about wanting to recruit Atlanta. Poppinga had recruited the Atlanta area as an assistant under Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia. Although the state of Georgia has never been a recruiting pipeline for BYU, Kalani Sitake gave Poppinga permission to recruit that area. Poppinga's vision paid off on Wednesday when the Cougars signed Atlanta native and three-star cornerback Therrian Alexander III.
Recruiting elite defensive backs has never been a calling card for the BYU football program, but that's the kind of potential that Alexander brings to Provo. He is a long, lean defensive back listed at 6-2.5 and 165 pounds. He will need to put on some weight once he joins the strength and conditioning program, but his speed and athleticism are ready-made for P4 football. Cornerbacks with his size and speed are hard to find on the recruiting trail which is why he was coveted by various Power Four programs. If Jay Hill and Jernaro Gilford help him reach his potential, he could end of playing on Sunday's.
Alexander picked BYU over competing Power Five offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and NC State back in August. Once he committed, the Cougars had to continue recruiting him hard while other schools came in late to try to flip his commitment. Big 12 peers West Virginia and Houston tried to flip him from BYU. In-state Georgia Tech posed the greatest threat - Tech hosted Alexander on an official visit a few weeks ago.
While on his official visit in Provo just last weekend, Alexander reaffirmed his commitment to the Cougars. Ultimately, his longstanding relationship with BYU's staff won out and Alexander signed with BYU on Wednesday.
Once his body is ready for the grind of Big 12 football, Alexander has the potential to be a multi-year starter for the defensive backfield.
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