Former Husky wide receiver Alexander makes a triumphant return

Montana State football was worth the wait for Lonyatta Alexander Jr.

Forced to sit out last season as a dual transfer from the University of Washington and Arizona State by the NCAA, the wide receiver made his debut with his Big Sky team a memorable one by playing a crucial role late in the Bobcats’ 35-31 win over New Mexico in Albuquerque.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Alexander of Auburn, Wash., caught three passes on the final drive, including a 37-yarder with 1:28 left to put his team at the New Mexico 31, allowing Montana State to rally from a 17-point deficit and pull off a stunning upset.

Alexander was a member of the football team at Kennedy High School in South Seattle before spending his freshman year at ASU and playing just the 2022 season for the Huskies and Kalen DeBoer. He appeared in 11 games before entering the transfer portal before UW faced Texas in the 2022 Alamo Bowl, leaving after catching a solo 9-yard pass that season.

Montana State seemed like a good reclamation destination, where Alexander would become teammates with defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez, who ironically is now a starter for the Huskies in his final season of college football.

A year ago, Alexander ran into the same transfer hurdles that forced UW defensive back Zach Durfee to sit out the Huskies’ first 13 games last season before the defensive back briefly played in the Sugar Bowl against Texas in New Orleans. Durfee attended North Dakota State and Sioux Falls before transferring to UW.

The NCAA has since rescinded that rule, allowing two-way transfers to play immediately and restoring eligibility to those, like Alexander and Durfee, who sat out.