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Brian Kelly rewarded the defensive back who helped reward his team with a massive overtime victory in Death Valley.
After No. 13 LSU outlasted No. 9 Ole Miss, 29-26, on Saturday night for its 5th victory in a row, Kelly gathered his players in the locker room and called out senior cornerback Zy Alexander, giving him the game ball.
“He’s come back from injury and last night was out on an island and battled. Zy Alexander earned the game ball after that performance,” wrote Kelly on social media on Sunday morning.
He’s come back from injury and last night was out on an island and battled. Zy Alexander earned the game ball after that performance. pic.twitter.com/F7hHAcACpj
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) October 13, 2024
Alexander’s huge game might just have been the difference in a battle that literally came down to the last play of overtime. He had 5 tackles and all of them were solo stops. Alexander also had a key interception with LSU down, 20-16, and Ole Miss driving early in the 4th quarter. Alexanders’s pick helped stop the Rebels’ momentum, allowing the Tigers to gather themselves and eventually force overtime with a late touchdown.
Alexander suffered a concussion in LSU’s Week 4 victory over UCLA. He missed the following week’s game against South Alabama but was able to return on Saturday night, with the Tigers having a bye in Week 6.
Boy, did he return. Alexander got back on the field, played lights out and got the ultimate reward from his head coach after one of the biggest victories of the Kelly era in Baton Rouge.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
