PHOTO | CURTIS WILSON

Former Charlotte 49ers defensive end Alex Highsmith earned a 5.99 grade at last month’s NFL Combine, which places him in the backup/special teams player category on an 8.0 scale. Highsmith, however, believes he can make the transition to an NFL pass rusher in either a 3-4 or 4-3 defensive scheme. “I think I can play both,” he said.

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Alex Highsmith has done the little things for his NFL audition.

He spent a chunk of the offseason training in Arizona to prepare for the annual combine of draft-eligible athletes. Next up is a Pro Day on campus, followed by the draft April 23-25. Highsmith’s ranking suggests he’ll be drafted, but does he have a preference?

“It doesn’t really matter,” Highsmith said. “Whatever team drafts me it’ll be a blessing to play in the NFL.”

Highsmith graded out at 5.99 – a backup or special teamer mark, according to the NFL’s scoring matrix. A score of 8 is considered the perfect prospect.

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein described Highsmith as a “Stand-up edge rusher with splashy production to get him noticed by 3-4 fronts. Highsmith is quick to diagnose and slip blocks to make plays in the backfield but lacks the strength and anchor to take on blocks and set strong edges. He’s clearly put in work when it comes to creating a diverse inside/outside rush attack that has a chance to keep growing if he can weaponize his hands and improve his speed-to-power attack. His play is more finesse than physical and may not be ready for early downs in the NFL.”

Said Highsmith: “Most of their reports had me work on my strength, things like that. That’s the main thing. They wanted me to work on that because they know my forte is rushing the passer.”

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For his part, Highsmith is convinced he can succeed in either 3-4 or 4-3 alignments.

“I think I can play both,” said Highsmith, who said he weighs 247 pounds. “I want to get up to 250, 251 by my pro day. I can bulk up if they want me to bulk up. If they want me to play 3-4 ‘backer, I can stay right where I am. I can be explosive and fast at whatever weight I play at.”

Highsmith barely registered in FBS recruiting circles when he arrived at Charlotte as a walk-on but worked his way up the depth chart and earned a scholarship by his redshirt sophomore season. As a junior and senior, he earned All-Conference USA and NFL scouts took notice.

“My redshirt freshman year, I was on the scout team,” he said. “That was my role then and it was to help the team get better, but then I also got better because I knew I was going to go against better guys.”

He also relied on his faith to keep him grounded while putting in the work to hone his skills and training habits. Even under the most adverse circumstances, there was something to look forward to.

“My faith was the most important thing in my life,” he said. “I leaned on Him and trusted in Him during those times you know that no matter what happens, God works all things for the good of those who love Him and according to His purpose, so I just trust in Him during the adversity. I just kept my nose down to the grind, I just kept doing the little things right and doing whatever I could with the things I could control to put myself in the best position to be the best I could be.”

Highsmith had company at the combine with teammates Cam Clark and Benny LeMay – the first time Charlotte sent three athletes to the combine in one year. Sharing that experience with peers made the combine memorable.

“It was awesome,” Highsmith said. “I got to see them the first night I was there when we were in the interview room together. I didn’t get to see them as much as I wanted to because they got there earlier and they were doing other things on different days, but it was awesome to see how much this program’s improved.

“We keep putting more and more guys out there and it was really cool just go through this whole process with those two guys so they’ve been here since I got here and so we’ve developed a great relationship, we know each other and give each other advice about this whole process.”

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