Jaire Alexander gives full scholarship to Rocky River senior, talks life after football
Tuesday morning, perhaps the most famous Rocky River High graduate of all time made a huge gift to a graduating senior.
Former Green Bay Packers All-Pro defensive back Jaire Alexander, 29, made Ravens’ senior Nicole Johnson the first recipient of the Jaire Alexander Scholarship Foundation scholarship.
The scholarship was open to high-achieving Rocky River seniors and a committee on Alexander’s foundation picked the winner.
So how much is it worth?
“She won’t have to pay for anything,” Alexander said. “College is going to be free.”
Alexander was one of the featured speakers in a special ceremony in the Rocky River gym to honor graduating seniors, who wore their caps and gowns and got several rousing speeches, including one from principal David Legrand.
Afterwards, Alexander spoke exclusively to The Observer, but didn’t really want to talk much about a possible return to football.
Last November, he announced he was stepping away from the game, just a week after being traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Earlier this month, Alexander wrote a first-person piece for The Player’s Tribune that detailed his reasons — mainly due a knee injury and surgery he suffered while playing for the Packers that never truly healed, and the mental anguish he went through trying to play through it.
“It probably won’t surprise you to learn that when news broke that I was stepping away from football, it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders,” Alexander wrote in the piece. “That was the biggest feeling of relief I’ve ever experienced.”
Mental health and keeping a journal
Standing in his old high school, Alexander talked about how keeping a journal, and re-reading his thoughts, helped him get through that tough time, and how it helped support his mental health.
“Mental health is the No. 1 thing for an athlete,” he said, “especially for a top-tier athlete who wants to be the best, who wants to grind. You’ve got to keep your mental (health) sharp in or order to play that way. I would journal every day, faithfully, just because it helped me get my thoughts out. Sometimes, as men and athletes, we don’t want to talk about our problems. The best I did it was journaling.”
In November, The Observer named Alexander one of the top 25 Charlotte boys’ high school athletes of the past 25 years.
Jaire Alexander’s football career
In 2014, as a high school senior, Alexander became the school’s first Associated Press all-state pick and he was named defensive player of the year in the Southwestern 4A conference. Rocky River opened in 2010.
After high school, Alexander played college football at Louisville, was a first round NFL Draft pick and became a two-time NFL All-Pro and a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Packers. After playing in Green Bay (2018-24) and Baltimore (2025), Alexander was traded to the Eagles, where he decided to stop playing, at least for now.
On Tuesday, Alexander said his knee feels great — “I’ve finally given it time to rest,” he said — and he talked about hosting a 7-on-7 high school event at Rocky River this summer and maybe one day being a coach.
An ex-Packer’s take on the Panthers
Alexander, who splits time between Florida and Charlotte, was asked about the Carolina Panthers’ cornerbacks and a big smile broke across his face.
“I like (JC) Horn and (Mike Jackson),” Alexander said. “(Jackson) was pretty scappy, but it’s like I’ve got to turn it off from being a competitor watching it, because, like in my mind, when you first asked about it, I’m like, ‘I’m way better,’ but I like these guys. These guys are next up.”
Alexander said he follows the Panthers and remembers not missing many games when he was here growing up in Mecklenburg County.
He also gave a slight hint that he might be thinking about a return to pro ball sometime soon.
“I loved them when (Julius) Peppers and Cam (Newton) were here,” Alexander said of the Panthers. “I was watching them, man. I’m glad that they’re doing good. I wish I was a part of it.”
