Davis Alexander committed early to the Vikings the fall of his senior year at Gig Harbor High School in Washington.

"I loved the coaches. I loved the way they recruited me, the fans…" said the recipient of scholarship funds for a football player in the school of business provided by Allen Cabelly.

PSU recruited Alexander "for his arm strength, cool demeanor and athleticism…he can run," said offensive coordinator Steve Cooper. Gig Harbor ran the same offense as the Vikings, which calls for a mobile, versatile quarterback, so Cooper thought he'd be a natural fit.

His senior year, Alexander had more rushing yards than his team's running back.

And later his senior year, that produced interest in the 5-11, 185-pound Davis from Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington. Both asked his coaches if there was any chance he'd "flip" to another program. Both were told "no".

The Viking coaches decided to redshirt Alexander last season, giving him an opportunity to learn the Vikings' system and get an in-depth look at Division I college football before officially entering the fray.

"I felt I had a good understanding of the game coming out of high school. My high school coach did a good job of preparing me for football at the college level," he said.       

Still, there are differences between the two levels of play. "At this level, there are no weak players. There are guys you'd rather go against, but there really are no weak players."       

And, running the ball isn't as easy for a quarterback. "Here, the linebackers are almost as fast or as fast as you are," said Alexander.     

Alexander enjoyed his redshirt year.      

"I got to travel to some great games, like U-Dub (University of Washington) and San Jose State.  There were some exciting games, including the one at Southern Utah where I think they had their all-time biggest crowd," he said.      

Perhaps the biggest plus was having a year to learn from PSU starting quarterback Alex Kuresa.     

"It was a great year learning from Alex. He was good for us, a real student of the game. He did a great job preparing me for this year," said Alexander.      

Alexander did not earn the open starting role at quarterback, but has seen some field time and completed a pass at Oregon State.      

"I came in this year expecting to start, but things don't always work out as planned." So, he treats his backup role "as if I'm going to start every week. I feel I'm ready to start. I'm a good student of the game and anything I can do to help the team is what I want to do."      

And, that fits Cooper's expectations of him. "We expect him to stay ready, stay ready so he won't have to get ready if he's called on," Cooper said.      

That means that Alexander, who considers himself a pocket passer, continues to work on his game.      

Leadership and pocket presence are two areas on which he's concentrating, along with keeping or bettering his 3.1 cumulative GPA as a business major (currently, he'd like to follow his step mother's (Natalie Alexander) footsteps into supply logistics).      

"Especially on the field, the quarterback is expected to lead and that should be easier for me than for someone who isn't as outgoing as I am. I'm a social guy. I like to talk and I'm not afraid to provide constructive criticism," Alexander said.       

He'd also like to put on a little weight. He gained 10 pounds last year…and "I'd like to have a better pocket presence."      

"Davis gets better every day in his football IQ and his fundamentals. He's shown great character and mental fortitude. At this point, he's definitely in the bullpen at quarterback," said Cooper.