This might be more important than any on-field award one can win.
Deslin Alexandre's Fifth Down for Haiti campaign successfully hit its goal of $50,000 raised for children in Alexandre's hometown of Haitien, Haiti over the course of Pitt's football season. That was just the tip of the iceberg of the model example the former Pitt defensive end set for his acts of community service in and around Pittsburgh.
For this triumph, and for the selfless approach he has offered throughout his community, Alexandre on Thursday was named the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year.
"I am honored to present the sixth annual Collegiate Man of the Year to Deslin Alexandre,” Jason Witten said Thursday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. “He is a great leader and a role model for young athletes. He came to the U.S. from Haiti at a young age and overcame a lot of challenges to become a great player and leader, both on campus and in the community. He is a perfect example of what a college student-athlete can be.”
Witten Collegiate Man of the Year ✨
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) February 24, 2023
Deslin Alexandre » @_Deslin
Winner 🏆 @WittenCMOY
Pitt's Alexandre honored for his "outstanding record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship."#H2P » https://t.co/60TDYhEbl9 pic.twitter.com/qiLATXLkWA
Alexandre was chosen for the award over Penn State's Sean Clifford and Oregon's Alex Forsyth. The Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award is given to the player which "demonstrates an outstanding record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship."
The award focuses on the on-and-off-the-field leadership aspects, and nobody fit the bill better than Alexandre, a two-time captain of Pitt's football team. The inaugural award was presented to UCF’s Shaquem Griffin in 2017. Other winners of the award include Wisconsin’s D’Cota Dixon (2018), Tennessee’s Trey Smith (2019), Texas' Sam Ehlinger (2020), and Kentucky's Josh Paschal (2021).
“Deslin is a very deserving winner of this award,” Witten said. “It’s very difficult for the selection committee to choose a winner from these three finalists. Sean and Alex are both outstanding leaders and have taken active roles on campus and in the community. All three of these men have extremely bright futures, both on and off the field.”
Here is what Alexandre had to say to us mid-season when his goal was nearly met:
A $10,000-dollar contribution via Witten's SCORE Foundation will be made in Alexandre's name to the athletic scholarship fund at the University of Pittsburgh.
Alexandre was an honor roll student as he pursued an MBA from Pitt's Gatz Graduate School of Business. He has entered the 2023 NFL Draft.
