By Will Vandervort.

It was just about midnight following last week’s win over Syracuse when Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney finally started to head home after a long day in Death Valley.

Swinney is usually one of the last people to leave the WestZone on game days because he has to stay back to film his weekly coach’s television show. But on the way back to his own office, he passed defensive backs coach Mike Reed’s office and that’s when he noticed cornerback Mackensie Alexander was in the room grading his performance from a game that just got over a few hours earlier.

“This is Saturday night and most people are out doing whatever young people do on a Saturday night after a ballgame in college, and he is sitting right there grading himself and critiquing himself watching the tape. That is just his mentality,” Swinney said. “That is how he is wired. He loves it. He loves to grind. He loves to practice. He loves to study the opponent and it transfers to the field.”

Alexander also transfers his dedication over to his teammates as well.

Fellow cornerback Garry Peters went upstairs after the game to pick up some food his mother left for him. When he passed by Reed’s office heading towards the break room, he noticed the freshman was in there watching film.

“I had to take a double-take because I saw Mac watching film in the room,” the senior said. “You want to leave, but that makes you hungry. I was like, ‘Dang, Mac is in there watching film so I have to come in here and watch it with him.’ So I just go in there and start watching film with him.

“He just feeds off on everybody. He is going to be a special player for us I feel like.”

So far he is.

Though he is just a freshman, Alexander is already becoming one of the more feared cornerbacks in the ACC and he has yet to record his first career interception.

So why is he so respected by offensive coordinators and quarterbacks so much?

Ask Florida State’s Rashad Greene. Yes, the ACC’s leading receiver in terms of receptions and yards had nine catches for 135 yards in the Sept. 20 game in Tallahassee, Fla., but those numbers don’t tell the story of what really happened.

Until Alexander slipped and fell to the ground on Greene’s 74-yard touchdown reception, the Seminoles’ best receiver was shut down by the freshman. His other eight catches managed just 61 yards, an average of 7.6 yards per reception, far below the senior’s 15.2 yards per catch average.

Since the Florida State game, opponents have seldom tried to throw the ball towards the freshman and when they do it seldom works. Though he is a freshman, and though he is matched up in man coverage most of the time, he only has three passes broken up and 11 tackles – clear indicators that no one is throwing the ball in his direction.

“He is in such tight coverage that the quarterback holds the ball and the next thing you know we are getting a sack,” Peters said. “His numbers will increase as his years go on, but if you always look at it, the person that plays in the field (side), his numbers are not always that high, but (Alexander’s) production is always good at the end of the day because he is doing his job.”

Swinney thinks Alexander’s success and work ethic is partly due to last year’s disappointment. A groin injury in preseason camp prior to the 2013 season sidelined the Immokalee, Fla., native for the season, forcing the Tigers’ coaches to use a redshirt on him.

“His mentality is different than what it would have been last year,” Swinney said. “His appreciation, I think, is different. He is going to give up some plays along the way, but he is one of those guys that will bring it every snap.

“If you are going to beat him, it is going to be a four-quarter battle. You can just count on that. I’m sure am glad we got him, I know that.”