SAINT-J脡R脭ME 鈥� Davis Alexander's off-season looked a little different.
The Montreal Alouettes quarterback went about his usual business 鈥� time in the gym, watching film, on the practice field 鈥� despite knowing he would head into training camp as the CFL team鈥檚 starter.
The one difference? He didn't need a second job as a waiter.
"I didn't work this off-season," Alexander said. "Usually in past off-seasons, I've worked in a restaurant. I served tables."
No longer needing to pick up shifts at an Arizona sports bar during the winter illustrates how much has changed in the past 12 months.
Life, as Alexander has learned, moves fast.
A year ago, he was entering his third Alouettes training camp as their third-string quarterback.
Now the 26-year-old American is the new face of the franchise. He's armed with a lucrative three-year extension and trusted to lead a team with legitimate championship aspirations after management chose him over 2023 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo.
Alexander isn鈥檛 feeling the weight of the heightened expectations that come with his new role, at least not yet.
"I honestly would feel more pressure coming in as a 2-3-4 fringe guy than I would as the (No.) 1,鈥� he said this week at centre sportif Claude-Beaulieu. "It's been awesome. Not that I treat it this way, but it is kind of your room, the rules that you want in the playbook.
"I don't feel that much pressure. Maybe I'm supposed to, maybe I'm not. Right now, I'm good. I feel great, I feel confident. We've got an amazing team."
The lack of a second job gave Alexander more time for "extra stuff
like cold tubs and saunas. He also paid more attention to his diet, which appears to have paid off.
Alexander put on roughly seven pounds in "true muscle mass," and head coach Jason Maas has taken notice.
鈥淵ou can tell he's lifted a lot of weights,鈥� Maas said. "He's in great shape 鈥� I know he's a competitor, so I knew he would be prepared, and you can just see it."
"Adding armour for the season, right?" added Alexander. "It's a long season, 18 games. The goal is to play all 18 plus two or three more."
Alexander only played in five last season, but won them all.
The five-foot-11, 195-pound strong-armed quarterback turned heads by leading Montreal to four straight victories 鈥� including a comeback off the bench against Saskatchewan on July 25 鈥� while Fajardo recovered from a hamstring injury.
In total, the Portland State product went 105-for-151 passing for 1,347 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 166 yards and three TDs on 24 carries.
All this while grieving the loss of his father, Matt 鈥� for whom he wears No. 10 鈥� who died from lung cancer at only 56 in August.
The small sample size was big enough to convince general manager Danny Maciocia that Alexander could replace Fajardo.
After extending Alexander, Montreal traded Fajardo to Edmonton for fellow veteran QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
The 33-year-old Fajardo carried his Grey Cup momentum into the 2024 season before injuries hit and his play took a dip, culminating in a 30-28 East Division final loss to Toronto.
"If you always want to take the safe route, well, you're going to get the results to come with it," Maciocia said of the quarterback decision. "Scared money doesn't win at the casino, and this is a calculated risk based on the data we had before us."
Wide receiver Tyson Philpot is bursting with excitement about the "gunslinger" under centre for the Alouettes this season.
"Every time he gets on the field man, he brings the juice," said Philpot, who expects to be ready for Week 1 after his season-ending foot injury last year. "As receivers, you love a quarterback who can throw that deep ball 70 yards."
Philpot, who also said he was blessed to play with Fajardo, highlighted Alexander鈥檚 leadership despite his lack of experience.
"Feels like he's a five-year vet the way he commands the offence," he said. "Everybody can relate to him 鈥� Sometimes you get those quarterbacks that are the stars and they kind of separate themselves from the rest of the team, but he's dapping up the D-linemen, the O-linemen.
"Super down to earth."
In Alexander鈥檚 first camp as the starter, Maas says the young quarterback is embracing his role as a communicator and offensive leader.
Bethel-Thompson, who led Toronto to a Grey Cup in 2022, is waiting in the wings for his opportunity.
But although Maas has built a culture of internal competition in Montreal, Alexander will be given a long runway to grow into the starting job.
"He's earned respect from our football team," Maas said. "He'll be given quite a big leash to play.
"There's nothing quite like having the pressure of a starter, you don't understand what that's like until you're in those people's shoes, but most people feel pressure when they're not prepared."
Alexander said he felt prepared for years before finally getting his shot last season. He鈥檚 quietly confident he can handle the challenge ahead.
"Part of just my DNA," he said. "I really am an ultra competitor."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
