BAKER - Former Baker High and Denver Broncos running back, Jeff Alexander, returned to his high school alma mater Friday morning to present a gold football to students as part of the NFL’s Super Bowl High School Honor Roll program.

Alexander told the student assembly that they should look at him as a person who set goals and strived to be able to make them come true. He also delivered words of caution, directing the students to be wary of being led by others who don’t have the best intentions.

The pro running back’s presentation was part of the league’s celebration of this season’s 50th Super Bowl. Alexander played for Baker in the early 1980s in addition to suiting up for the Southern University Jaguars. He went on to be an undrafted free agents with the Denver Broncos in the 1988-89 season.

Alexander described growing up poor, living with a single parent in Alsen, a small town near Baker. He told students he always dreamed of playing in the NFL, but was prepared for a difficult path to fulfilling his ambitions. Going undrafted left him “heartbroken”, but he was undaunted, trying out and making the team for the Broncos.

Alexander has hung up the pads these days though, but he still lives in Denver where he is the owner of Alexander Pro Realty.

The commemorative golden football presented by Alexander was crafted by Wilson, maker of all NFL game balls. Similar awards will be sent to the high school of every player or head coach who was on an active roster in a Super Bowl, according to a press release from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. There are close to 3,000 players and head coaches representing 2,000 different high schools that bear this distinction.

According to a press release from the City of Baker School System, Baker High is in line to receive an NFL Character Education Curriculum award along with being eligible to apply for a grant from the NFL Foundation to help support the school’s football program.