Jerry Stovall: LSU Photograph Collection, RG #A5000,
Louisiana State University Archives, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA.
Scott Purdy: What about your position coach?
Charles Alexander: My position coach was Jerry Stovall. Jerry Stovall was also the guy that recruited me out of Galveston [Texas] ball. Real tough guy. Tough is the word I guess you could use with Jerry Stovall. I just remember that he would never . . . He would always demand the very best out of you. You would leave nothing on the field as far as games or at practice, just demanded a lot out of you. As long as you gave him your very best, he was okay. But, if you didn't, he had trouble with you, or you had trouble with him.
Purdy: Did the coaches get involved in the academic side of a player’s life?
Alexander: Yes, we . . . One thing Coach Stovall did is at the beginning of each year, we would fill out a goal sheet. We'd write down our goals for each year. They always say if you write something down, ninety-nine percent of the time or ninety-five percent of the time those goals are going to come true or you're going to come close to accomplishing those goals. We would do that every year and it would be amazing when you look at those goals. At the end of the year, you had come pretty close to achieving those goals. I know I did.
Purdy: Is that something that has stuck with you?
Alexander: Yeah, yeah it does. That’s what I got my book right on the side of me now. I’ve every . . . At the beginning of each year, I’ll sit down and I’LL write things down, “Well, I want to do this in 1993.” I’ll just put those goals down and most of the time, I accomplish them.
-- Charles Alexander, interviewed by Scott Purdy, 1993