Seattle Seahawks legend Shaun Alexander said he’s been friends with Charles Woodson and Randy Moss since high school. He revealed the story on our football history podcast.
Shaun Alexander Hometown and High School
Shaun Alexander grew up in Florence, Kentucky. He attended Boone County High School in Florence.
In January of 1994, Sports Illustrated featured him in their “Faces in the Crowd” column after his junior season and noted that he was also class president. His on the field performance earned him the Mr. Football Award in Kentucky. That’s how he became friends with two other future NFL legends who were also in high school at the time.
Shaun Alexander, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson are Friends
“No one would know we were that close.”
Shaun Alexander on his friendship with Charles Woodson
When I interviewed Shaun Alexander at a Tristar Productions event in Houston during 2022, he surprised me with this fantastic story:
“I still laugh because now that we’re getting older, we get to have those stories where, you know, cell phones wasn’t how it was back then and Instagram and all these things,” Alexander said. “But I went to almost every high school game being Mr. Football from Kentucky and I traveled with Mr. Ohio and Mr. West Virginia just about every game. And who was that? Charles Woodson and Randy Moss!”
Alexander added that the three remain great friends to this day, even though very few people know how close they really are.
“Charles gets inducted in the Hall of Fame and he’ll send me a text. ‘Bro, you’re going to be able to come?’ No one would know that we were that close.“
Every now and again you hear about two well-known players going to high school together. Occasionally you here a couple of players knowing each other through playing each other in state high school football playoffs. But two Hall of Famers and an NFL MVP Award winner? Wow!
Embed from Getty ImagesESPN in the 1990s
Alexander said it was really exciting for the soon-to-be famous trio, as ESPN covered them.
“It was just really sweet because I was one of the first athletes with, with those guys that ESPN followed around,” he said. “That’s back in ’93, ’94, ’95, you know. And so us having all those flashback memories are just fun.”
Great things shined on the horizon as the three moved on from high school to college. Shaun Alexander went to Alabama and set the school’s all-time single-game rushing record with 291 yards on the road at LSU during his freshman year. He ended his college career as Alabama’s all-time leading rusher.
Charles Woodson attended Michigan and won the Heisman Trophy. Randy Moss established himself as the best college receiver of his day at Marshall.
Woodson and Moss were later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Alexander also had a tremendous career and is one of only two players in NFL history to average at least one touchdown per game for five consecutive seasons. Alexander was also named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2005.
Listen to more from Shaun Alexander:
Looking for a great NFL history book? Check out The Game Before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL available at — Amazon.com – Barnes and Noble – University of Nebraska Press
