When Joseph Rauls first met Sedrick Alexander when he started as an assistant at LBJ High School in Austin, his son tapped him on the shoulder.
"That's Little Sed from 'Friday Night Tykes,' " he said.
"No, it's not," Rauls originally responded. "That can't be Little Sed. Little Sed was chubby, he was crying a lot, that can't be him."
But "Little Sed," the 10-year-old football player from the Esquire reality series "Friday Night Tykes," was indeed Sedrick Alexander.
The teenage Alexander was no longer the crying kid on TV. Instead, he used his experience — and the fact that his screen time made him a role model — to become a team leader.
"He didn't always try to be the guy that was out front, he would just be the guy that was in front," Rauls said.
" . . . Knowing that he, to a lot of people, was a figure that they'd seen on TV."
Now, Alexander is the starting running back for Vanderbilt football. The senior has seen it all with the program, from starting as a freshman on a team that went 2-10 in 2023 to the program that won 10 games for the first time in 2025. Through it all, he never considered leaving.
In Vanderbilt's season opener against Austin Peay, Alexander ran for 60 yards on one attempt and scored a touchdown. The Commodores (1-0) face Delaware on Sept. 12 (3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
"I knew that I wanted to change the program in a way," Alexander told The Tennessean. "Especially the way to run the ball. God works in mysterious ways. Obviously, I played early, but I just wanted to come here and put my best foot forward."
Why Sedrick Alexander chose Vanderbilt
In high school, Alexander stood out for his work ethic. He played in just about every role offensively, serving as a running back, backfield receiver and even a Wildcat quarterback.
He was also a weight room star. Rauls once saw the 180-pound Alexander put 500 pounds on a bar. Rauls thought there was no way Alexander could squat 500 pounds, but he did it.
In football, Alexander was lightly recruited, but his junior year, he attended a track meet. His coaches knew that if he could run anything under 11 seconds, Vanderbilt would likely offer. Alexander ran a 10.9, and his coaches celebrated more than he did.
That offer from the Commodores was Alexander's first from a power conference program, and he committed without taking any other visits.
"It got to the point where I stopped posting offers," he said. "I knew exactly where I wanted to be. First Power Five school that believed in me. They play in the best conference and I can get great academics here too as well."
How 2-10 season with Vanderbilt was 'shocking' for Sedrick Alexander
Alexander's first season brought him success on the field as he worked his way into being the starter as a true freshman. He racked up 371 yards on 96 attempts with four touchdowns and made 18 catches for 133 yards. He led Vanderbilt in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
But none of that mattered to him because the team went 2-10.
"I ain't going to lie, I never lost that much in my career," Alexander said. "High school, middle school, little league. It was very shocking for me."
He had to accept that college football was different, and winning wouldn't come as easily as it did at the lower levels.
His coaches believed in him, and he believed in the new pieces the Commodores brought in on staff and in the transfer portal. His faith paid off, as Vanderbilt went 7-6 in 2024 and 10-3 in 2025, with Alexander starting all 26 games across both seasons.
Being the starter so early on pushed him even more on his leadership skills, where he has worked to become someone his teammates can talk to on and off the field. But like many of his teammates, Alexander wants more.
"We're trying to win a national championship," he said. " . . . Just seeing the progress, 2-10, then you go 7-6, and then you go 10-3. Our goal is to win a national championship. We want to win, 10-3 is not going to get the job done. We've got to go basically undefeated to get the job done."
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How reality TV stint helped mold Sedrick Alexander into Vanderbilt leader | Exclusive
