[autotag]Mackensie Alexander[/autotag] should talk more often.

After spending most of his redshirt freshman season dodging reporters, he appeared out of the blue on Wednesday afternoon for what might go down as the best interview of the year.

The star cornerback touched on a variety of topics as he held court outside of the visiting tunnel at Memorial Stadium, including his opinion on the best cornerback in college football.

Alexander didn’t yell, point or stomp his feet like his name was Richard Sherman, but the answer highlighted the near 10-minute interview.

Just a notch or two above a whisper, Alexander calmly repeated, “It’s not even close.”

“In my opinion, it’s not even close. I think every guy who talks about Mackensie knows I’m the best corner,” he said.

Not Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller or Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey. Not Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III or USC’s Adoree Jackson.

“Look at my body of work,” Alexander said. “Look at all the things that I’ve done. It’s not even close. My numbers, you look at everybody else’s numbers.”

In July, Clemson SID Tim Bourret compiled an impressive list of stats for Alexander, who didn’t have a single interception in 2014.

When Alexander was on the field, opponents attempted 374 passes. Fifty-seven of them were thrown in his direction. Six ended as breakups and 20 were completed for 280 yards with two touchdowns. Only one completion went for more than 20 yards, and Alexander slipped on that play.

The averages are even more impressive: 4.91 yards per attempt, 1.5 catches per game and 21 yards per game.

Yet Alexander wasn’t even named to the preseason All-ACC first-team at last month’s media days in Pinehurst, N.C. Instead, Ramsey and Fuller got the nod.

But the accolades don’t matter to Alexander, especially the ones before the season even starts. His concern is bigger than himself.

“As a defense and Clemson, we’re not worried about all that. It’s more about us,” he said. “We’re going to play Clemson 15 times, so it doesn’t matter about all that other stuff. We’re staying focused and staying in tune with what we’ve got to do.”

For Alexander, that’s eliminating one side of the field for opposing offenses. Some folks just haven’t realized that he’s really good at it.