New York Jets release Alexander

Former Penn football player Vince Alexander's run to the NFL appears to have come up short.

Tuesday, when NFL rosters had to be cut down to 60 spots, Alexander was waived by the New York Jets.

Alexander, who graduated in the spring, was a standout safety at Penn and appeared to have difficulty adjusting to linebacker -- his projected pro position.

"He's a little bit in between the skills needed to be an NFL safety or an NFL linebacker," Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff said.

Alexander also fell victim to a number crunch. The Jets' starting quarterback Chad Pennington went down with a wrist injury in the preseason, forcing New York to use an extra roster spot on a quarterback. In other words, another roster spot that would not be used on a linebacker.

"We had eight linebackers in camp that did a very good job," Westhoff said.

While Alexander is a typical "tweener" in a regular defense, he did perform admirably in Westhoff's area of expertise, special teams.

"I liked him as a special teamer," Westhoff said. "I still feel he could be a good special teams player" in the NFL.

Despite falling short of his goal of making an NFL roster, Alexander did prove to at least one coach that he was an NFL-caliber player.

"Vince Alexander looked very much like he belonged in an NFL training camp," Westhoff said.

However, the job security of a fringe special teams player is always very low. Injuries and other flukes could lead to a player of Alexander's caliber making any given team -- or not.

"He's always going to be on the cusp... it's never going to be easy for him but it is possible," Westhoff said.

The Jets could still assign Alexander to their practice squad or to NFL Europe. Westhoff notes, as a Penn graduate, Alexander does have non-football career options as well.

"He's a bright kid," Westhoff said. "He has some options in his life."

Alexander could not be reached for comment for this story.

Westhoff admitted that he did have somewhat of a bias in favor of the former Penn star, as his son John graduated with Alexander and was his teammate on the Quakers' squad.

In his senior season, Alexander tied for the Ivy League lead with five interceptions and was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown against then-No. 4 Lehigh on September 28, in a 24-21 Penn win.

Recent Penn graduates Rob Milanese and Stephen Faulk were both also signed and cut by NFL teams over the summer. Milanese, Penn's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yardage, was released by the New England Patriots on July 18. Faulk was dropped by the San Francisco 49ers on May 28.

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