Five LSU football players used the same word to describe sophomore right tackle Alex Hurst: “quiet.”
The 6-foot-6-inch, 320-pound offensive lineman may be one of the largest players on the team, but his personality is far from over the top.
“Hurst is the biggest guy we have, but he’s really, really quiet,” said junior running back Stevan Ridley. “As big of a guy as he is, you’d expect him to have a big personality and a deep voice, but he’s just a mellow guy.”
But the mild-mannered lineman changes demeanors once he is in the trenches during a game.
“Hurst is a stone-cold killer as far as on the field,” said senior left tackle Joseph Barksdale. “You’d be surprised. Some of the quietest guys on the field are the most violent.”
Hurst has used his physical prowess gained through LSU’s strength and conditioning program against opposing defensive lines.
The dedicated lineman earned the Alvin Roy Fourth Quarter Award in the offseason from LSU for his commitment to strength and fitness.
“He’s really taken to the weight program,” said Chris Wiley, Hurst’s former football coach at Arlington High School. “He’s a gentle giant. Once he gets on the field, he is able to turn it on.”
Hurst said he is OK with his behind-the-scenes role on the extroverted offensive line.
“I was always the quiet guy,” Hurst said. “I’ll say something if something needs to be said, but I’m not one to be loud and be the life of the party.”
Ridley, one of the more talkative members of the team, said he has made efforts to get Hurst out of his shell.
“I try to pull a little personality out of him,” Ridley said. “He’ll talk and stuff, but it’s just not much.”
Hurst’s massive stature and low-key personality earned him the nickname “Clyde.”
“He looks like one of the Clydesdale horses so we call him ‘Clyde,'” Barksdale said. “He’s built like a horse.”
Sophomore center P.J. Lonergan, Hurst’s roommate, thought of the nickname and even went as far as to name his teammate’s bedroom.
“He calls my bedroom the stable,” Hurst said. “Once P.J. gets something in his head, he won’t live it down.”
Hurst, who is also called “Big Clyde,” appeared in 12 games during the 2009 season, and he made his starting debut in LSU’s game against North Carolina last weekend.
The result of LSU’s first offensive play of the game didn’t help ease Hurst’s first-game jitters.
Junior right guard Will Blackwell went down with a broken ankle and didn’t return to the field.
Hurst was forced to adjust to T-Bob Hebert, a junior who usually takes snaps as a center, lining up next to him instead of Blackwell.
“It was pretty much like losing your wingman,” Hurst said. “It was definitely sad.”
This weekend Hurst will return to his home state of Tennessee to play Vanderbilt.
“It’s always exciting to go back where you came from and have people from high school and the surrounding community say, ‘That’s our product,'” Barksdale said.
Hurst has a special place in the history of his high school. He is the first football player from Arlington, Tenn., to play in the Southeastern Conference.
Wiley said he won’t be able to make the three-hour trek from Bartlett to Nashville, but Hurst will have the support of at least one person rooting for No. 72.
“I have grandparents that live in Nashville,” Hurst said. “My grandfather actually went to Vanderbilt, and he’ll be at the game Saturday. He said he is definitely going to wear purple for his grandson.”
The Commodores were one of the first schools to offer Hurst a scholarship, but he ultimately chose the Tigers because of the way LSU balanced academics and athletics.
“He’s been talking about going back for the Vanderbilt game,” Lonergan said. “He’s ready to go home and play in front of his family.”
Hurst has even introduced his culture to his teammates.
Redshirt freshman offensive guard Josh Williford said Hurst took him squirrel hunting one weekend in Tennessee.
“[Squirrel hunting] is a chance to get away from football and school and just stress in general,” Hurst said.
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]
Football: Size doesn’t translate to demeanor for Hurst
September 8, 2010