PHOENIX, Ariz. — Jean and Marie Alexander don’t know a heck of a lot about the sport that’s going to make them and their son a lot of money.

Mackensie Alexander’s parents are Haitian immigrants. Their English is about as limited as their understanding of football.

The game is the furthest thing from his mind when mom and dad are around. The star cornerback from Immokalee, Fla. wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Most parents, when you come home, most parents — you’ve got to deal with your mom and dad, ‘You didn’t make that play. You didn’t do this or you didn’t do that. Why didn’t you play?’ See, my mom and dad are just blessed enough to be there,” Alexander said. “They’re happy enough to just be like, he’s there. They’re happy to be there.

“The crowd — they don’t understand anything about ball. I come home and I’m relaxed. I come home and my mom doesn’t have to pressure me, doesn’t have to talk to me about stuff that I don’t want to talk about the game. When I get off the field, I’m done with football. I’m a normal person. I’m real relaxed, chill.”

There is love for the game. Plenty of it.

“He’s a junkie,” said Brent Venables, who isn’t afraid to leave Alexander manned up against some of the best wide receivers in college football.

“He’s definitely a junkie. He likes it. He’s a gym-rat. He loves the game. He loves the game within the game. He loves the opportunity to match-up when possible and he loves to have that pressure on him. He’s performed for two years and he’s performed at an elite-level when the pressure has been on.”

According to campusrush.com, receivers being covered by Alexander have been targeted 104 times. Thirty-two have ended as completions. This season, he’s allowed 12 completions on 47 targets.

“He’s harder on himself than a coach could ever be and he’s, arguably, one of the most competitive players in a practice situation or a walk-thru situation that you’ll ever be around,” Venables said. “He doesn’t want you to catch the ball in a walk-thru.”

Instincts, ability, mindset, Venables said, Alexander’s got it all in spades.

“He came right out of momma’s womb as a corner,” Venables said, “So we talk about that, laugh about that. He was born to be doing what he’s doing right now.”

Yet Alexander remains thankful for the fact that he an check that all at the door when he’s with his folks.

“I go home with my parents, when they’re at the game. They don’t ask me anything. They’re just happy to be there,” Alexander said. “When the crowd goes, yay. They go, yay. It’s kind of one of those things.”

Both are out of work right now, but much of their lives have been spent underneath the hot Florida sun as tomatoes and orange pickers.

“There was times when we had to go out there with them, me and my brother Mackenro. We would go out there and help them out, get the job done,” Alexander said.

Now, he’s helping them. Because of the stipend granted by the NCAA, Alexander is able to send most, if not all of his money home.

“All my money is helping my parents and stuff like that. They’ve got bills and stuff and they weren’t working. I’m helping them out and making sure they’re OK,” he said. “I don’t need much, because I’ve never had anything, so for me to buy things I don’t need — I’m not materialistic like the world wants everybody to be…I’m about the real things in life: People that need help, helping others.

“I don’t think about myself. Serving other people, that’s the biggest thing to me. I’m a good guy. I’m just blessed enough to be this athletic and gifted.”

Clemson is just blessed to have him on their side in the National Championship against Alabama.