Former Pitt Panther Chas Alecxih Heading To Super Bowl
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Former Pitt defense tackle Chas Alecxih's football career hasn't always been easy, but next week might make it all worth it.
After having three head coaches leave during his time at Pitt and just as many teams let him go during his NFL career, it would have been easy for Alecxih to call it quits. But he didn't, and now he's headed to the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers.
With the big game just ten days away, Alecxih joined "The Fan Morning Show" to talk about the incredible experience that awaits him in the Bay Area.
Alecxih isn't quite sure what to expect when he steps off the plane.
"When I was at Pitt, we didn't even get to go to a BCS bowl game," Alecxih said. "Not even getting to experience that, and getting to experience the Super Bowl - I have no idea. My eyes are wide open, and I'm just ready for whatever it brings."
Being a part of a Super Bowl-bound team often means getting a lot of ticket requests, and Alecxih will have to say no to a lot of people, including one that's quite close to him.
"Just the family," Alecxih said. "Just the mom, dad, brother, and sister. Not even taking the girlfriend."
The biggest topic leading up to next week has been the controversy surrounding Cam Newton and his "antics" on the field. Alecxih was asked about Newton and went to bat for his teammate.
"He is pretty much the exact same when the doors close as when the doors open," Alecxih said. "He's funny, he's always talking, he's always got a joke. He's extremely charismatic, and people are drawn to that, and when you're as confident as he is - I mean, you see what we've done this year...he's been the driving force behind our success."
Alecxih has been plugging away as a practice squad player ever since he finished up at Pitt in 2011, and even though he still hasn't cracked an active roster, he feels that he has made tremendous strides this season.
"I think I've grown a ton," Alecxih said. "We have a tremendous group of D-linemen. We acquired Jared Allen like four games into the season, and his locker is right next to mine. I talk his ear off every day trying to get information...[the defensive linemen] are all tremendous guys, and I truly think I've learned something from every one of them, and I talk to them all the time, too. So, I'm excited. I'm sure I'll be back here next year, and the sky's the limit."
With that in mind, Alecxih can't wait to see what the future holds.
"I've done this three years now, and I'm ready to make the jump," Alecxih said. "I was very close this year, and obviously you never want anybody to get hurt, but we had no injuries this year, so there was no opportunity for me to get moved up. And that's fine. I'll help the team any way I can. But, I think that next year, I'll have a good shot of making that jump, I really do."
Alecxih also took the opportunity to share his thoughts on new Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. He said that while he didn't get to meet Narduzzi last year, the new Panthers head man won him over quickly by sending him a handwritten note and a box of gear.
"He is the kind of coach I would have loved to play for," Alecxih said. "He's full of energy. He's passionate. You can see that he loves his players. I'm telling you, I think he's going to do great things. Even just with recruiting, we haven't had recruiting like this since Dave Wannstedt left, so I'm excited."
The interview can be heard here: