by Jim Isabella | Correspondent
On Feb. 1, Alex Todd accepted a football scholarship to play at Indiana University in Bloomington, becoming the first Streetsboro to play for a Bowl Championship Series school.
“It is really exciting,” Todd said. “It proves that someone who plays at Streetsboro can play at a BCS school.
“The past years, people have said [to me] ‘no ever comes from Streetsboro to play football at a big school’ and hopefully, this proves that changes now and people start believing in the program.”
For Todd, playing big-time college football didn’t cross his mind until his three-year career as a starter for the Rockets at right tackle and defensive tackle came about.
“It is astonishing to believe it is about to come true,” Todd said.
The idea that Todd could play major college football happened when colleges started to send him letters inquiring about his interest in them.
“When MAC [Mid-American Conference] schools started calling, I realized I could play in the Big Ten,” Todd said. “When I got my Big Ten offers, I thought, ‘Wow, I can do it.’ The day I signed the letter was the biggest moment of my high school career.”
Todd was recruited by Mike Ekeler, the Hoosiers’ co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach under head coach Kevin Wilson. Todd is expected to play defensive tackle for Indiana, which uses a traditional four-man front.
Streetsboro head football coach John Arlesic said Todd, who is 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, is a unique talent.
“His quickness and power is incredible,” Arlesic said. “He is so powerful and his quickness in the five-yard area around the line of scrimmage compared to the rest of the guys is unbelievable. No one can coach size. His overall size is solid — not fat or sloppy.”
Todd was told the same thing about his quickness by the Indiana coaches.
“They said it was my first step off the ball that they liked,” Todd said.
Arlesic said Todd is someone far more than just a very good football player.
“He also has the intangibles — his character, his leadership ability and work ethic,” Arlesic said. “I tell people if athletic ability ever matches his character, he will be one unbelievable football player. He is just one of those kids who is mature beyond his years. He makes sacrifices now for his future.”
Arlesic, who coached players like Mario Manningham and Maurice Clarett as an assistant coach at Warren Harding under Thom McDaniels, said Todd is not just a once-in-a-career player to coach from a lineman’s perspective. He is more than that.
“On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work out with 40 fifth- and sixth-graders in our weight room,” Arlesic said. “Now he is in there working out by himself, but he takes time out of his lifting to help out. He volunteers to help out with reading to first graders. He understands what he does reflects on the community.”
A visit to the Indiana campus in Bloomington sold him on committing to the Hoosiers after considering playing for Miami University in Oxford, Boston College and Connecticut.
“Bloomington is a college city,” Todd said. “The coaches are awesome people and I could not ask for a better set of college coaches. said Todd, who has a 3.4 grade-point average. “The first time I visited the campus is when I realized I wanted to go to Indiana.”
Todd will be going to watch the spring game at Indiana and will be there this summer to prepare for football camp, which opens in August. He plans to major in criminal justice and minor in business with an eye on possibly working for a federal agency, perhaps the FBI, though he isn’t sure yet.
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