Football
Sep 13 (Sat)
7:45 pm MT
- Title:
- Outside Linebackers
- Email:
- Alex.Means@afacademy.af.edu
- Phone:
- 719-333-3836
Alex Means is in his fourth season as defensive line coach at Air Force after spending the previous two seasons as the outside linebacker’s coach. This season is his eighth overall as an assistant. He was the assistant defensive line coach his first two years.
The defense has ranked in the top six nationally four of the last five years. Air Force led the Mountain West in total defense for the fifth straight year in 2024. The defense ranked sixth in total defense (277.7) in 2023, sixth in rushing defense (90.8) and 12th in scoring defense (18.2).
Means helped the Air Force defense to a No. 1 national ranking in total defense (254.5), second in passing defense (159.1), third in scoring defense (13.4) and sixth in rushing defense (95.3). The 13.4 points per game average is the sixth best in program history and best since 1997.
Means developed first-team all-Mountain West selections Bo Richter and PJ Ramsey in 2023. Richter led the Mountain West and ranked sixth nationally in tackles for loss in 2023 with 19.5 for 116 yards. He also had 10 sacks which are the fifth most in program history and most since 1994. Richter had at least one TFL in 11 games. He concluded his career with an Air Force bowl record 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks vs. James Madison in the Armed Forces Bowl. He also had four quarterback hurries and was named to the Associate Press all-Bowl team. He is currently a member of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Ramsey started all 13 games and was second on the team with 7.5 sacks for 37 yards and second in TFLs with 11.5 for 54 yards. He ranked fifth in the MW and 47th nationally in sacks. Junior Payton Zdroik has been a steady presence, recording 14 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks the last two seasons.
Means developed all-conference outside linebacker Vince Sanford, who was one of the most disruptive players in the nation in 2021 and 2022. He was among the league leaders in several categories, ranking sixth in forced fumbles (.31) and fourth in sacks (.73) and tackles for loss (1.3). Sanford led the team with 17 tackles for loss for 118 yards which ranks sixth in program history. He also had 9.5 sacks for 91 yards which ranks eighth in school history.
The 2020 defense was among the top units in program history, finishing third nationally in scoring defense with a 15.0 average. The 15.0 mark is the best at the Academy since 1997. The team also ranked fifth nationally in passing yards allowed (166.8) and fourth in redzone defense (.692). The defense was third in the conference and 20th nationally in scoring defense with a 19.8 norm in 2019. The unit allowed just 100.5 yards per game, which is the best single season mark in program history, breaking the mark of 109.0 set in 1985. The defense allowed just 319.6 yards per game which is the best single season mark in the program since 2009.
In 2019 Means developed a defensive line unit that was anchored by two all-conference defensive linemen, Mosese Fifita and Jordan Jackson. Fifita recorded 48 total tackles and had 7.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks which are the best marks by an Air Force defensive lineman since all-conference performer Ben Garland in 2009. Fifita was the first Falcon defensive lineman to earn first-team all-conference honors since 2015. Jackson was drafted in the sixth round, No. 194 overall, by the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Draft. Jackson closed his career as one of the all-time leaders in tackles for loss and sacks yardage at Air Force. He recorded 29.5 tackles for loss for 181 yards which is eighth in program history. He had 15.5 sacks for 137 yards which ranks second at Air Force.
Means is a 2008 high school graduate from East High School in Mankato, Minnesota. As a four-year letterman at the Air Force Academy, Class of 2013, Means was a two-time captain and led the team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, and pass break ups over his career. He was named the team’s most valuable player. A second-team all-Mountain West selection in 2012 as a senior, Means was selected to play in the Raycom College All Star Game. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Means began his coaching career at the Air Force Academy in 2014, serving as a graduate assistant coach for outside linebackers. He then served as a logistics readiness officer at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., before serving as the Logistical Commander and Director of Operations for the Air Force’s Deployment Transition Center in Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Means and his wife, Perri, have two daughters, Leo and Scotland, and three sons, Dallas, Atlas, and Haakon.
