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A canonized run, shot from a cannon Those were the days, my friend By: Malamute, Posted 26 August 2003
Sure, he was the recipient of some of Tui’s pitchouts during his first year at the UW. He made the most of them, and so did Willie Hurst. What is wrong with that? When he runs well, he runs from the outside, fans say. That's all he can do, some will tell you, remembering his first year at Washington. Oh, yes, they remember his fumbles too, one of them supposedly costing us the Cal game last year. As I remember, Cal was led by standout quarterback Kyle Boller, with 23 seniors on its team. That veteran team punished a young Husky ball club that day, and was on a vengeful mission. Nor would Rich lose or save the day. But I remember Alexis' first year also. I’ll never forget his long run against Purdue to start the second half of the Rose Bowl (2001), and I told him that at Picture Day. That cannonading 50-yard run down the sidelines is one for canonization in my memories of Husky lore. A critical run, it brought momentum back to the Huskies in that game. Later, John Anderson kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 17-10 lead. In the 2000 season, Alexis set a freshman rushing record of 738 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. His 50-yard run against Purdue was the longest non-scoring run in Husky bowl history. He was the Huskies' leading rusher in 2002 with 688 yards on 202 carries, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. His 62.5 rushing yards per game ranked No. 7 in the Pac-10. This year, his last at Washington, Rich is in the best shape of his UW career, and he is, by far and away, the best running back at the UW. An omnipresent smile should be on his face, but it is not. The fraternity incident, the Neuheisel imbroglio, and fans’ criticism all apparently have taken their toll on Rich Alexis. Many fans blame Alexis, along with the offensive line, for the Huskies' pathetic ground game in 2002, the worst in school history. There were better days. At Picture Day 2002, before the season began, Alexis sat at a table with Cody Pickett and Paul Arnold, signing autographs for a long line of fans. His broad smile back then contrasted sharply to his demeanor at this last Picture Day, where he wandered about alone at times, few fans noticing him in the last hour of the event. At Olympia, former Husky coach Dick Baird took him aside and gave him a pep talk, one long overdue I concluded, providing I correctly interpreted the downcast expression on Alexis’ face. Shirtless, Rich basked in the rays of a recalcitrant sun listening attentively to Baird, the periodic light glistening off hard-earned sweat, a symbolic moisture of sorts--one that separates the wheat from the chaff--that clung to his massive shoulders and bulging biceps, I want to see that smile on his face again--whether he has a good season, a bad season or a tweener. He's a prototypical Husky running back as one fan said. Not flashy or full of shine and glitz, but a running back who runs hard and fast, ready to bust pads and spill guts with a line backer as big and ugly as Dick Butkus. Shoulders aching, close to doubling him up in pain--but pain temporarily lost to the intensity of the game--Alexis will throw a devastating block to protect quarterback Cody Pickett during an all out blitz. Take one for Cody and the team. Yes. A fourth-stringer starting practices this summer, Alexis should start at tailback against the Buckeyes in Columbus on August 28, barring the unforeseen. Will he have a good season? Alexis referred to Neuheisel as his "buddy," last season, according to Husky beat writer Bob Condotta. Alexis says that coach Keith Gilbertson has that "intimidation factor...(The off-season workouts were) a lot tougher, in-your-face type of thing, very strict on all the little details, and I think it's starting to help us now," Condotta quotes him as saying. Out of Florida, Rich Alexis will leave Seattle for Columbus, dressed in heroics colored Purple and Gold, and when his career is over, he will forever be part of the Husky culture and the din that lingers in the Husky tunnel, an echoing of Huskies' successes from the past, including a Rose Bowl, where a young runner burst from a cannon onto the football scene. -------- The photo above was taken of Rich Alexis at Picture Day 2002.
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Fans
can take swipes at running back Rich Alexis all they want, mauling and clawing
at him for an apparent lack of vision and cut-back skills. But it won’t change my
opinion of him.