Dunham Seeing Results in Senior Season
9/19/2018 11:51:00 AM | Football
By Jay Hinton
TCU Athletics Communications
FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU senior Alec Dunham learned at a young age that hard work pays offs, and the 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker is definitely seeing the fruits of his labors.
"My parents, my grandparents and my family have always instilled hard work in me," he said. "But until you get to TCU and do some of the things we do here, you really don't know what the true definition of hard work is."
After three years of playing mostly special teams, Dunham, who hails from Coldspring, Texas, recorded his first career touchdown on a 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Week 2 against SMU, and a week later, he recorded his first career sack against No. 4 Ohio State at AT&T Stadium.
"That's always been my attitude, but Coach Patterson has definitely cultivated that into a different kind of hard work," he said. "I feel like my role is to be prepared for when Coach P calls on me. That's what I have been doing since I got here — waiting on my turn."
He embraced his role as a special teams player as a freshman and he tallied 14 tackles (nine unassisted) in 2015.
"I think special teams is a microcosm of what football really is," he said. "You have to be able to run, cover and be physical. It's a role. If you go back and watch any game, the team that wins the battle of special teams wins the battle on offense and defense. It's a testament to what kind of team you have."
Entering his senior season, he has 30 career tackles (mostly on special teams), but this year, he is seeing more action at linebacker. Through three games, he has 12 stops (nine unassisted), to go along with the fumble return and sack.
"I played running back in high school, so I learned a lot about defense from Coach Patterson and learned a lot of technique and how to play from Travin Howard, Sammy Douglas, Arico Evans and Garret Wallow," Dunham said. "Now that I am a senior, I am seeing the process unfold a little bit so I can get more playing time and the benefits are coming."
He is also reaping the benefits off the field as well. He is set to graduate in December. Completing an internship is part of his major, so he went to work and found one with a law firm in Fort Worth. Twice a week, for three hours a day, he dons a suit and tie while working for the firm.
"I needed an internship to graduate, so I called a couple of people and they accepted me," he said. "Learning law is something anyone would benefit from."
With the Big 12 Conference opener Saturday at Texas, Dunham is going to continue to do what he's done because it's a proven formula.
"Everything you do you have to work for it," he said. "You can't anything for granted. Anything is possible if you work for it. What you reap is what you sow. As long as you put in the hard work, it will pay off."
