Bubba Alexander is in the midst of chasing what is arguably his biggest goal.

The 2027 in-state LB, out of Hammond, has long desired to play college football, but growing up an avid fan of the Tigers, his dream is to play at Clemson.

Alexander has visited campus several times now, including a game-day visit last fall. He’s also attended Dabo Swinney’s high school camp every summer since he was a youth. This summer, the young linebacker made plans to attend all five days of camp and work out at every session, in an effort to take another step towards achieving that dream.

So, when Alexander didn’t turn in quite the performance he was hoping for on day one, he knew he had four more days to make an impression in front of new defensive coordinator Tom Allen and linebackers coach Ben Boulware.

“Being totally honest, it was not my best showing,” Alexander told The Clemson Insider. “It was great to be able to be coached by the coaches for the first time, and they all had good stuff to say, but as far as my performance goes, again, it was not my best showing.”

However, it wasn’t meant to be. After killing it during the morning session on day two, Alexander injured a hamstring, not only ending his day, but also cutting his entire week short.

“Now, on the second day, during the first session, because I was there for 3/4 of that first session, I had a much better day,” Alexander said. “But I injured my hamstring. It was on one of my breaks, on a backpedal. I went to break downhill. The trainers said it was a super common way for that to happen. They said I am super quad dominant in the way I have been training. I have a lot of legs down there and not enough hamstrings to support. So, as of recently, I have been really trying to bulk up the hamstrings. It was kind of a blessing in disguise because I didn’t realize how weak my hammys were. But I am already stronger than I was.”

No doubt it was a setback, and in the moment, it had to be a devastating one, but Alexander took it in stride.

“It sucked,” he said. “Especially on that second day, because I had really started to hit my groove and I was really looking forward to coming back for the weekend.”

Despite his week getting cut short, Alexander was able to get two full sessions in and most of a third. That was plenty enough to get a good impression of Boulware and his coaching style.

“He is about as legit as I was hoping for,” Alexander said. “He is insane, but like a good insane. His energy is crazy. Him and coach Allen are both just unbelievably smart. Especially with coach Boulware being so fresh off of his career. It is kind of relatable, he knows how the game works. It was really cool to be able to be coached by someone with that knowledge. The way they coach is amazing.”

As a sophomore last season, Alexander helped lead Hammond to a state title, racking up 110 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback pressures, two sacks and two forced fumbles. He was named second-team All-State and was also a participant in the North-South All-Star game.

East Tennessee State was the first to offer. They offered him as an ATH after watching him work out at running back during one of his spring practices. He is hoping now that the first door has opened, more will follow.

Although, at the end of the day, it’s that Clemson offer Alexander craves, and Boulware has given him reason to believe the opportunity is there.

“He told me to keep trusting the process,” Alexander said. “He said big-time opportunities don’t come until a little later down the road and that they wanted to see some good junior film. A couple of things they wanted me to keep working on over the summer.”

With a dead period now in place, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound prospect is looking to build on a phenomenal sophomore campaign. Alexander is fully focused on the season ahead and trying to help lead Hammond to another state title.

Do those things, and just maybe, he finds himself on the receiving end of a phone call from Boulware at some point down the road. A phone call that culminates in an opportunity to play at his dream school.

“Yes, that is the coveted one,” Alexander said. “I want it pretty much as bad as anything in my life. That is what you are chasing after, an opportunity to play for a school like that. I am going to give it everything I’ve got during this recruiting process to see if I can have a chance to play there. You don’t have very many people in high school who get to pick a hat and say where they want to go, so that opportunity would be amazing.