BATON ROUGE, La. -- Donnie Alexander is used to being surrounded by high-end college talent.
Playing for Louisiana Class 4A state champion New Orleans Edna Karr, Alexander played on the same team as 2013 ESPN 300 prospects Standish Dobard (Miami (Fla) signee) and Noel Ellis (Texas A&M) and 2014 watch list prospects Gerald Willis III and Speedy Noil.
Count Alexander among the high-end Karr prospects.
The 2014 linebacker was offered by LSU on a weekend trip to Baton Rouge. After returning home and talking it over with his mother, he decided to pull the trigger and commit.
"LSU's the school I always wanted to go to since I was small," he said. "I didn't really want to wait."
The name may be an unknown to fans, who were perhaps expecting one of the 12 Louisiana players on the ESPN Watch List to be the next to commit.
Truth be told, Alexander was surprised, too.
"I was (surprised)," he said. "I really wasn't expecting it. They like my speed. They like that I'm a good tackler. They like that I make plays."
In that regard, he is perhaps comparable to 2013 signee Duke Riley, who share's Alexander's smaller build, but speed that will allow him to be versatile in areas like pass coverage.
"I think I do have good coverage skills," he said. "I get good drops and I'll come up and stick a slot receiver."
And he knows how to win. Karr went unbeaten in 2014, beating a talented Monroe Neville team for the 4A title.
"At Karr, we strive toward winning and being successful young men," he said. "That's what our coaches preach to us. Now that we've won, we have to maintain, don't let it get to our head."
