Before Alex January was a two-time state champion at Duncanville and DCTF four-star defensive line signee to Texas, he was perhaps the state's largest peewee baseball player.

His 6-foot-4-inch, 325-pound frame wasn't the result of a late growth spurt. He's been about a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than other kids all his life. College football coaches drool over his size and production at Duncanville, most recently winning District 11-6A Defensive Player of the Year. But his father, Michael, can't help remembering all those home runs Alex mashed.

"I would tell you today that he's still a better baseball player than he is a football player," Michael said. "It's just hard to play third base at 325 (pounds)." 

Give Alex time; he'll likely surpass his baseball diamond heroics on the gridiron. Alex only started playing football in eighth grade. And he only started playing defensive line full-time when he got to Duncanville in ninth grade. At Catholic school in the TAPPS Division, Alex accidentally broke the middle school team center's wrist competing in one-on-one drills and had to replace him on the offensive line for the rest of the year. 

Michael played linebacker at Texas in the mid-80s. He didn't think it was necessary for Alex to be playing tackle football at six years old. Whatever Alex lacked in game experience by the time he got to high school, Michael could make up for because he'd played collegiate football. 

So Alex had fun playing baseball. And Michael would post videos of his giant son mowing down opposing hitters from the mound or scorching line drives with the hashtag #BelieveInMonsters. It was a warning of what was to come. He let his son know that one day he'd unleash the "monster" on the gridiron. Right now, Michael was temporarily protecting him.

"I tried to keep him being a kid as long as you can because, at some point, it turns into a job," Michael said.

Alex put in work over a three-year varsity career at Duncanville that brought "The Godfather', Reginald Samples, his first state championship rings. Duncanville's defense, headlined by January and five-star defensive end Colin Simmons, gave up 11.9 points per game over a 29–1 run over the past two seasons. 

Michael was a valuable mentor for Alex as he embarked on the recruiting process. Michael and Alex went together on all the defensive lineman's official visits. Michael didn't just pull for Texas because he played there. Alex heavily considered LSU, as well, because his entire extended family lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where both his parents were raised.

Instead, Michael gave Alex his perspective as a former Division I athlete on which recruiting pitches should outweigh the others.

"He would say, 'They're all going to do the same stuff right now. They all have new stuff being built. They're all the coaches that love you,'" Alex said. "But when we get up there, it's going to be a different story. So you've got to really find the coach that can help you improve the most.'"

Parents attending visits with their kids is a new phenomenon in recruiting. In 1982, Michael remembers getting dropped off at the airport to visit a college and his parents driving away saying, 'See you Sunday!'. Now, fathers who have played college ball and been through the recruiting process by themselves can get a read on the programs their kids are visiting so the family can make an informed decision.

"I can't imagine not being able to go on a visit not with my son," Michael said. "Having gone through the recruiting process, you kind of want to understand where the university and the coaches' heads are at."

Father and son always knew what the Texas program stood for, however. Michael used to take his sons, Alex and his older brother Austin, to Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium almost every weekend as a season ticket holder at his alma mater. In 2024, he'll watch the January legacy continue for Texas's defense when Alex suits up in burnt orange.