Alexander was the first athlete featured on the cover of both the NCAA Football and Madden NFL series of video games.

[3] His parents divorced when he was 11, and he and Durran were raised by their mother in a two-bedroom apartment off of Shenandoah Drive in Florence, Kentucky.

As a freshman, he played football for the junior varsity team and was voted Class President—as he was every year in high school.

During his junior season in 1993, Alexander ran for 2,396 yards and 42 touchdowns as Boone County made it to the state semifinals.

[6] During his senior season, 1994–1995, Alexander rushed for 3,166 yards and a state record 54 touchdowns[7] and was named Kentucky's "Mr.

Alexander had narrowed his choices down to Michigan, Alabama, and Notre Dame (where his brother Durran played drums in the marching band).

[5] In 1995, during his senior year in high school, Alexander accepted a scholarship from Gene Stallings, then-head coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

In 1996, as a redshirt freshman, Alexander rushed for a school-record 291 yards[10] and four touchdowns in a 26–0 victory over rivals LSU at Tiger Stadium.

Alexander still played a key role in leading the Tide to the SEC Championship in 1999, as Alabama trampled #3 Florida with a 34–7 victory.

In the fourth quarter of the 1999 Iron Bowl versus rivals Auburn, Alexander led a comeback and scored three rushing touchdowns in the 28–17 victory, finishing the game with 199 total yards.

[18] The Seahawks acquired the pick in the draft following a trade that sent wide receiver Joey Galloway to the Dallas Cowboys.

[19] In his rookie season, Alexander saw limited action behind starter Ricky Watters, rushing 64 times for just 313 yards and two touchdowns.

[20][21] In Alexander's second season in the NFL, he became the Seahawks' featured running back, following injuries and the eventual retirement of Watters.

On ESPN Sunday Night Football on November 11, 2001, versus AFC West rival Oakland Raiders at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Alexander rushed for a franchise-record 266 yards on 35 carries, including an 88-yard run to the endzone.

Against the Green Bay Packers in the wild card game, Alexander had only 45 yards on 20 carries, but had three rushing touchdowns.

On November 20, 2005, in San Francisco, Alexander became the first player in NFL history to score 19 rushing or receiving touchdowns in only 10 games (Steve Van Buren had 18 in 1945).

In 2005, he joined Emmitt Smith, Priest Holmes, and Marshall Faulk as the only running backs to record consecutive seasons of 20 or more touchdowns.

Combined with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Alexander aided the Seahawks in producing the league's top ranked offense, and the team scoring title.

[39] He beat out New York Giants running back Tiki Barber and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning who had won the award the previous two years.

However, in the NFC Championship Game against the Carolina Panthers he had 34 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, which was easily the best playoff performance of his career.

"Sweet Shaun" was widely aired in the Seattle area in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL, plus national play on ESPN Radio and other outlets.

In a December 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Alexander broke Barry Sanders' record for most consecutive games with a run of 10 or more yards.

During Week 5, Alexander's lead blocker, Mack Strong, was injured with a herniated disk in his neck, forcing him to retire; he was replaced by Leonard Weaver.

Even so, in the final game of the regular season, Alexander was able to become the eighth player in NFL history to score 100 rushing touchdowns.

On October 14, 2008, the team signed Alexander[58] to fill the void left when back-up running back Ladell Betts went down with a knee injury.