Fans wondering why 2005 NFL MVP and former Alabama football star running back Shaun Alexander isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame aren't alone.
Alexander, who played for the Seattle Seahawks for eight seasons and rushed for more than 9,000 yards in his career, retired following the 2008 season with Washington. He was first eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2014 and has been a nominee for the prestigious honors in nine of the last 10 seasons.
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However, Alexander has not advanced past the initial selection process as a semifinalist or finalist in any of the nine ballots. He was not on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2018 and is not part of the 2024 class , which will be enshrined on Aug. 3 in Canton, Ohio. In an interview on the "Up & Adams Show" on YouTube on Monday, Alexander talked to host Kay Adams about his relationship with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"I have never done anything with the Hall of Fame, except show up at a couple of events," Alexander said. "I just know all of the greats, Emmitt [Smith], Barry [Sanders], they love me, they welcome me in. I had a conversation with Thurman Thomas the other day and they said, 'Troy, you don't have your gold jacket.' And I'm like, no, 'Stop picking on me.'
"I am assuming it's going to happen one day and I believe my numbers are great, so I am very thankful for the career I got to have. But yeah, I am desiring to be in, I do. One day, it should happen."
Here's what you need to know about Shaun Alexander's case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and his career at Alabama:
Alexander won the 2005 NFL MVP honors beating out Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots for the honors. He led the NFL in rush attempts with (370), rushing yards (1,880) and rushing touchdowns (27) while averaging 117.5 yards per game. The 27 rushing touchdowns were the single-season rushing record until LaDainian Tomlinson eclipsed the record with 28 the following year.
Alexander helped lead Seattle to Super Bowl 40 during the 2005 season. In 2004, he finished one yard behind Curtis Martin for the rushing title (1,696 yards to Martin's 1,697). For his career, Alexander rushed 2,187 times for 9,543 yards (4.3 yards per attempt) and 100-career rushing touchdowns. He also added 215 catches for 1,520 yards and 12 more scores.
This came despite Alexander's having 64 rushing attempts in his rookie season after being the No. 19 pick in the 2000 NFL Draft and 11 carries in his final season with Washington at age 37.
"I think it's a couple of things," Alexander said of his case for the Hall of Fame. "So I just like to keep it with numbers. Numbers are numbers. I played [64] carries, maybe my first year, maybe 10 carries my last year. So that gets you to seven years. Everyone knows I got hurt in my sixth and seventh years, so I played half the season. So, if you really talk about the 100 touchdowns, the 9,000 yards rushing, it was done in about six years.
"Now I say, go find the greatest running backs, any running back, and ask them what they did in six years and compare my numbers with them."
The last Alabama player elected to the Pro Football Hall was a posthumous selection in Ken Stabler, in 2016, following a playing career with the Raiders, Oilers and Saints from 1968-84.. The next-most recent selection, Derrick Thomas in 2009, was also elected posthumously after a playing career with the Chiefs from 1989-99.
Alexander played for the Crimson Tide from 1996-99 out of Boone County High in Florence, Kentucky. He picked the Crimson Tide over finalists Michigan and Notre Dame.
With Alabama, he rushed 701 times for 3,433 yards and 40 touchdowns, while adding 61 catches for 792 yards and eight touchdowns. In his senior season, he posted 302 carries for 1,383 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He also added 25 receptions for 323 yards and four scores during the 1999 campaign. In a comeback 28-17 victory over rival Auburn, Alexander scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns and finished with 199 yards.
Alexander was a preseason Heisman Trophy contender, but an ankle injury kept him out of a game against Tennessee , causing him to slip to seventh in the voting. Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne won the honors. Alexander was the last Crimson Tide player picked in the first round until 2009, when offensive tackle Andre Smith went No. 6 to the Cincinnati Bengals .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama's Shaun Alexander makes case for Pro Football Hall of Fame
