Southern Illinoise University Athletics
All-American Safety Alexis Moreland Focused on Winning
09/22/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 22, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Just a little less than two years ago, Southern Illinois University freshman Alexis Moreland was an 18-year-old kid, as green as the new artificial turf at McAndrew Stadium. Though talented and capable, the free safety wasn't even listed on the Salukis' depth chart going into the 2001 season.
No problem though. Not many true freshman are.
"I came in really not expecting to play that much,'' Moreland said. "I knew I'd probably get a little bit of time, but I thought I was going to redshirt and try and get a little bigger and stronger.''
But then starting free safety Andre Rockwell went down with a season-ending injury in the third game of the season. Considering the Salukis were already extremely thin in their secondary, head coach Jerry Kill was left with few options.
He was forced to throw Moreland -- a kid right out of high school -- into the fire.
"I wish we could of redshirted him,'' Kill said. "But we couldn't because of the situation we were in."
Moreland had just two choices.
"Being thrown in like that, you're either going to burn or find a way to survive,'' Moreland said.
He chose the latter.
Not only did the Sarasota, Fla. native go on to start seven games his freshman year, he also played well enough to finish second on the team in tackles. He was named to the Gateway Conference's All-Newcomer team after the season and wound up getting a head-start on what has been a standout career to this point.
"I think I found a way to survive and actually played pretty well,'' Moreland said of his freshman season. "I'm not personally scared to play. I welcome the challenge to play. I got to play that season, and I played pretty good.''
The trial-by-fire experience helped Moreland put together a breakout sophomore season in which he led SIU in tackles and was named a second-team All-American and first-team All-Gateway Conferece pick.
Pretty impressive considering many other players his age were just getting their feet wet that season as redshirt freshmen.
Then Moreland had the luxury of coming into the 2003 campaign a seasoned veteran. He was also well-known, resulting in his selection as a first-team preseason All-American and placement on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the best defensive player in Division I-AA.
Hard to believe he's only a junior.
"He's had to learn the hard way,'' Kill said. "He's worked hard. And instead of getting discouraged and quitting, he's hung in there and made himself a very good football player.''
Despite his relative youth, Moreland is one of the elder statesman of a young Saluki defensive unit.
"He's a veteran to us, but he's only a junior,'' Kill said. "We don't have many veterans.''
And the leadership role is something he hasn't shied away from.
"He's the quarterback of our defense, no question about that,'' Kill said. "It's very important that he runs that back end, and he does a very good job of it. With all that we do and all the little adjustments we make, he's real critical in that.''
Statistically, Moreland's team-leading 134 tackles last year stands out as an especially high total for a safety. But ever since Moreland switched from offense to defense as a junior in high school, he has become quite fond of making big hits.
"Once I started hitting people, I never wanted to go back,'' Moreland said of the switch. "I enjoy making tackles.''
Even though he is capable of repeating those big numbers, Moreland admits that if he records fewer tackles this season, it may be a positive indicator for the team. Heading into this week's game against St. Joseph's, Moreland is tied for the team lead in tackles with linebackers Eric Egan and Royal Whitaker. Each player has 25.
"I probably will make a lot less tackles this year because our surrounding defensive core is a lot better than it was last year,'' Moreland said. "So we'll have more players making a lot more tackles."
And with that in mind, Moreland was the first to predict SIU will go from worst to first in the Gateway Conference this year defensively. He's hoping he won't be the only member of the defense who gets individual recognition.
"But at the same time, I expect to make tackles,'' added Moreland.
Moreland admits he didn't expect all the individual accolades to come this soon in his college career.
"I planned on being a pretty good player,'' Moreland said. "I just wanted to make all-conference, and I would have been satisfied.''
'But all this unexpected praise and attention has been bittersweet for Moreland. Despite his defensive exploits last year, SIU finished dead last in the Gateway as a defensive unit and went 4-8.
He'd said he'd trade all the individual awards in a minute if SIU could go from worst to first in the conference in defense and turn in a winning season. The Salukis are well on their way to accomplishing both as they are currently second in the Gateway in defense and have a 3-0 record, the school's best start since 1991. In this week's national polls, the Salukis are ranked #13.
"I wanted to be a good player on a good team, and we'd be winning and everything,'' Moreland said. "You know, accolades are nice, but I'd rather win.''
"When I step out on the football field, I'm not worrying about the awards and accolades. I'd rather have the best defense in the country and nobody has to know my name. As long as we're winning, that's all I worry about.''
