Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
“You love it there. We've got to do this.” — Q&A with Cornerbacks Coach Alex Suber
2/8/2023 5:29:00 PM | Football
The former All-Sun Belt player is back in Floyd Stadium coaching his old position group
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It's been a whirlwind for Middle Tennessee football's Alex Suber, the program's new cornerbacks coach, after he joined the Blue Raiders' staff in January.
There were the usual new hire and offseason challenges for Suber: going through onboarding with HR, meeting players just getting back on campus and helping the rest of the staff finish out the recruiting class on National Signing Day.
But for Suber, there was also the added wrinkles of moving back to the United States after living in Canada, coaching receivers for the Ottawa Redblacks, all while just after the birth of his son in December.
The former Canadian Football League player left behind a lot to come back to his alma mater, including a temporary time apart from his wife, Valentine, who stayed in her native Canada with their son, Avi, while Suber got adjusted in the mid-state. A hard thing to do for anyone, of course, but Suber said his wife was the one that encouraged him to come back to Murfreesboro.
"Coming here, it's just something different," Suber said. "My wife said, 'You love it there. We've got to do this.'"
GoBlueRaiders.com sat down with MTSU's new cornerbacks coach to talk about how his transition into the job has gone, his CFL career on the field and on the sideline, his Blue Raider playing days and his standards for his defensive backs.
The following conversation was edited for length and clarity
---
What have the first weeks on the job been like getting your feet under you, hitting the ground running with National Signing Day just around the corner and the start of the spring semester?
It was exciting. I would rather jump right into the mix. That's just kind of how I am. It was good to get back. These guys (my fellow coaches) have done most of the work (recruiting). It was just me looking at some guys and reaching out to the guys at my position.
For the most part, it's been getting settled in. The onboarding process, trying to find a place without picking the wrong one with my wife not being here yet. So just kind of going through that, HR and all of that stuff, getting my keys and getting acclimated for the most part.
I was here when the students got back, so I got to meet the DBs, went to the workouts throughout the day to meet everyone. I'm excited about that. Being a former player, me and (Kenneth) Gilstrap are pretty close, so I've always been watching, he's always been telling me about the guys in this room. So, it's been cool to meet them, kind of knowing what I know from watching from afar.
What does it mean for you to come back to a school you had so much success at as a player and get a chance to lead the next generation of players at your position?
First off, it's just amazing to have this opportunity with Stock being here. Even if I wasn't here to coach, the fact that me and the guys I played with, the guys that played before me, that you can come here and there's a coach that's still here, that doesn't happen often.
I love it here; I don't think there would be many other college football opportunities that would've pulled me away from pro football. Coming here, it's just something different. My wife says, 'You love it there. We've got to do this.' Being here man, and just continuing the success here, it's not like this is a program that is building, there's been so much success, including the back-to-back bowl wins.
You mentioned how it would take a lot to get you back into the college environment after experiencing the pros. What are some of the changes you are noticing now that you're back in the thick of things?
Well, recruiting right? I knew that while I was there, watching from afar, how much that has changed in the three years that I have been out. Recruiting is the biggest thing.
And then, I've always had good relationships with all my players, being a younger coach and having played the game on every level. Those guys are closer to being a man when I get them in pro football. And here, you're trying to help raise men and guide them in the right direction, which excites me about being back. That's why I got into it.
Taking a few steps back now, when you had just graduated from Middle Tennessee and were looking to play professionally, how did you get involved in the CFL?
There was a scout who came to our pro day. I maybe talked to him for 10 minutes or so. Of course, I didn't brush off any opportunities. I didn't think much of it, but I didn't brush him off. He reached out to me, I went up for a camp, and that was kind of all she wrote.
In doing some background research ahead of this interview, I really enjoyed learning about you being a part of the "Swaggerville" defense when you were with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 season, making it all the way to the Grey Cup that year. What was it like being a part of that group?
It was amazing, man. It was something we kind of started on the defense. We had t-shirts, we had a whole LLC, it was pretty crazy. We had board meetings with the (team) president to make sure we weren't crossing paths with how they were selling things. It was amazing. The city was buzzing, they hadn't won in a while. Historically, a winning team, but they hadn't won in a while. That was their first Grey Cup run in a long time, and our defense was a big part of that. We were exciting on defense, turnovers, every week we had a new celebration. We had something that brought something special to the city.
After your playing days, you coached in high school and in college for a number of years, even spending time on the staff at Murray State when MTSU Offensive Coordinator Mitch Stewart was the head coach, before eventually coaching for a number of years in the CFL. At almost every stop, you were an offensive coach, coaching receivers. How did a defensive back start coaching the other side of the ball?
I played offense all the way up until Coach Stock came here. I tore my ACL as a freshman, I was a running back still my sophomore year, then they asked me to play defense. I didn't want to, but it ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me.
So, I always had an offensive background and I think that had a lot to do with being an undersized player. I had some natural ability athletically, but having the knowledge of route concepts and other things has always helped me. Nick Coleman, who played here, was the OC for Mitch (Stewart), he gave me a call, and that's how I ended up coaching receivers there.
How do you think all of the coaching you've done on the offensive side of the ball in your career will help you coach defensive backs in this role?
It gives you somewhat of a better understanding of how an offense wants to attack the weakness of the defense. It just gives you another perspective of how to prepare for what the offense is doing.
What's the focus for the defensive back room this spring, with Mat Drills just a few days away and spring practice shortly thereafter?
Mat Drills, I want those guys to compete and work their tails off and gain some camaraderie and get an understanding of what my standards are and what we're looking for every day. As we get into spring football, I just want to tune in on our base schemes. We won't be doing a lot of things, so we just want to get really good at our base, work on our technique and just compete and get better.
My standard? Playing with great energy and enthusiasm. Effort is our edge. Playing together and communicating. And just competing in everything we do.
There were the usual new hire and offseason challenges for Suber: going through onboarding with HR, meeting players just getting back on campus and helping the rest of the staff finish out the recruiting class on National Signing Day.
But for Suber, there was also the added wrinkles of moving back to the United States after living in Canada, coaching receivers for the Ottawa Redblacks, all while just after the birth of his son in December.
The former Canadian Football League player left behind a lot to come back to his alma mater, including a temporary time apart from his wife, Valentine, who stayed in her native Canada with their son, Avi, while Suber got adjusted in the mid-state. A hard thing to do for anyone, of course, but Suber said his wife was the one that encouraged him to come back to Murfreesboro.
"Coming here, it's just something different," Suber said. "My wife said, 'You love it there. We've got to do this.'"
GoBlueRaiders.com sat down with MTSU's new cornerbacks coach to talk about how his transition into the job has gone, his CFL career on the field and on the sideline, his Blue Raider playing days and his standards for his defensive backs.
The following conversation was edited for length and clarity
---
What have the first weeks on the job been like getting your feet under you, hitting the ground running with National Signing Day just around the corner and the start of the spring semester?
It was exciting. I would rather jump right into the mix. That's just kind of how I am. It was good to get back. These guys (my fellow coaches) have done most of the work (recruiting). It was just me looking at some guys and reaching out to the guys at my position.
For the most part, it's been getting settled in. The onboarding process, trying to find a place without picking the wrong one with my wife not being here yet. So just kind of going through that, HR and all of that stuff, getting my keys and getting acclimated for the most part.
I was here when the students got back, so I got to meet the DBs, went to the workouts throughout the day to meet everyone. I'm excited about that. Being a former player, me and (Kenneth) Gilstrap are pretty close, so I've always been watching, he's always been telling me about the guys in this room. So, it's been cool to meet them, kind of knowing what I know from watching from afar.
What does it mean for you to come back to a school you had so much success at as a player and get a chance to lead the next generation of players at your position?
First off, it's just amazing to have this opportunity with Stock being here. Even if I wasn't here to coach, the fact that me and the guys I played with, the guys that played before me, that you can come here and there's a coach that's still here, that doesn't happen often.
I love it here; I don't think there would be many other college football opportunities that would've pulled me away from pro football. Coming here, it's just something different. My wife says, 'You love it there. We've got to do this.' Being here man, and just continuing the success here, it's not like this is a program that is building, there's been so much success, including the back-to-back bowl wins.
You mentioned how it would take a lot to get you back into the college environment after experiencing the pros. What are some of the changes you are noticing now that you're back in the thick of things?
Well, recruiting right? I knew that while I was there, watching from afar, how much that has changed in the three years that I have been out. Recruiting is the biggest thing.
And then, I've always had good relationships with all my players, being a younger coach and having played the game on every level. Those guys are closer to being a man when I get them in pro football. And here, you're trying to help raise men and guide them in the right direction, which excites me about being back. That's why I got into it.
Taking a few steps back now, when you had just graduated from Middle Tennessee and were looking to play professionally, how did you get involved in the CFL?
There was a scout who came to our pro day. I maybe talked to him for 10 minutes or so. Of course, I didn't brush off any opportunities. I didn't think much of it, but I didn't brush him off. He reached out to me, I went up for a camp, and that was kind of all she wrote.
In doing some background research ahead of this interview, I really enjoyed learning about you being a part of the "Swaggerville" defense when you were with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 season, making it all the way to the Grey Cup that year. What was it like being a part of that group?
It was amazing, man. It was something we kind of started on the defense. We had t-shirts, we had a whole LLC, it was pretty crazy. We had board meetings with the (team) president to make sure we weren't crossing paths with how they were selling things. It was amazing. The city was buzzing, they hadn't won in a while. Historically, a winning team, but they hadn't won in a while. That was their first Grey Cup run in a long time, and our defense was a big part of that. We were exciting on defense, turnovers, every week we had a new celebration. We had something that brought something special to the city.
After your playing days, you coached in high school and in college for a number of years, even spending time on the staff at Murray State when MTSU Offensive Coordinator Mitch Stewart was the head coach, before eventually coaching for a number of years in the CFL. At almost every stop, you were an offensive coach, coaching receivers. How did a defensive back start coaching the other side of the ball?
I played offense all the way up until Coach Stock came here. I tore my ACL as a freshman, I was a running back still my sophomore year, then they asked me to play defense. I didn't want to, but it ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me.
So, I always had an offensive background and I think that had a lot to do with being an undersized player. I had some natural ability athletically, but having the knowledge of route concepts and other things has always helped me. Nick Coleman, who played here, was the OC for Mitch (Stewart), he gave me a call, and that's how I ended up coaching receivers there.
How do you think all of the coaching you've done on the offensive side of the ball in your career will help you coach defensive backs in this role?
It gives you somewhat of a better understanding of how an offense wants to attack the weakness of the defense. It just gives you another perspective of how to prepare for what the offense is doing.
What's the focus for the defensive back room this spring, with Mat Drills just a few days away and spring practice shortly thereafter?
Mat Drills, I want those guys to compete and work their tails off and gain some camaraderie and get an understanding of what my standards are and what we're looking for every day. As we get into spring football, I just want to tune in on our base schemes. We won't be doing a lot of things, so we just want to get really good at our base, work on our technique and just compete and get better.
My standard? Playing with great energy and enthusiasm. Effort is our edge. Playing together and communicating. And just competing in everything we do.
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