DALLAS — SMU Mustangs linebacker Alexander Kilgore will wear No. 23 this season, taking on the number the program awards each year in honor of Jerry LeVias, and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said the team vote was unanimous.
Kilgore first learned who LeVias was during his freshman year on campus in 2023 and went looking for the rest of it himself.
“It’s a great honor. It’s truly a blessing that my teammates were able to vote me for that honor,” Kilgore said. “What Jerry LeVias went through is nothing short of hard, right? And to be able to honor him on the field and off the field is a blessing and I give everything to my teammates and I’m truly blessed.”
“I learned about it my freshman year, and that’s when I kind of did research on who Jerry LeVias was, what he did, and what it means to SMU,” Kilgore continued. “And ever since that, it’s like, who’s getting 23, who’s getting 23, and that’s an honor. It’s an honor.”
Jerry LeVias And The Origin Of SMU’s No. 23
LeVias signed with SMU in 1965 and became the first Black player to receive a football scholarship in the Southwest Conference. He played for coach Hayden Fry from 1966 through 1968, was a consensus All-American as a senior, and was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year in 1968. He finished with 155 catches for 2,275 yards and 22 touchdowns.
LeVias wore 23 for Psalm 23 at his grandmother’s insistence, and he kept the number in the NFL. The Houston Oilers drafted him in the second round in 1969. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
SMU began awarding the number in 2009 under then-coach June Jones. Players vote on the recipient. Safety Isaiah Nwokobia was the tenth player to wear it when he received it in 2023.
The vote was unanimous, and Lashlee said Kilgore understands what the number means as well as anyone on the roster.
“It was a big honor. Alex represents everything I think Jerry LeVias stood for,” Lashlee said. “He’s gonna be a great ambassador for Jerry for wearing that number for our program. And it was pretty unanimous. Our guys vote for it and not only was it unanimous, but I think he, as much as any player here and all of our guys have always been great, I think as much as anybody he appreciates what that honor means. So that’s pretty cool.”
Alexander Kilgore’s 2025 Season At SMU
Kilgore is a senior from Katy who came to SMU out of Katy Paetow. He was a team captain last season and started 11 games, finishing fourth on the roster with 60 tackles, 31 of them solo, to go with 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
He scored a defensive touchdown in the season opener against East Texas A&M on Aug. 30, had a season-high 11 tackles in the win at Clemson on Oct. 18, and intercepted a pass against No. 17 Arizona in the Trust and Will Holiday Bowl on Jan. 2.
Kilgore has appeared in 39 games over three seasons. He had 36 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks as a freshman in 2023, then 56 tackles in all 14 games in 2024.
Alexander Kilgore On What A Number Does For A Locker Room
For Kilgore, a number to chase does the same work in a locker room as any other target.
“It motivates players, right? When you have something to work towards, it’s always going to motivate you,” Kilgore said. “Even for y’all. Y’all can have something, a goal in media that y’all are probably working towards, and it’s a goal. It makes y’all work harder with discipline, motivation, whatever that may be. But internally, externally, it makes you work harder. Just like the game on Monday, it makes you work harder because you know who we have.”
On Aug. 11 Kilgore was named to the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list for the second straight year, one of 113 nominees for college football’s community service award. SMU cited his work coaching youth football camps in the Dallas and Houston areas and visiting patients at Children’s Health. He is also an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee and a preseason second-team All-ACC selection.
LeVias turns 80 on Saturday, two days before SMU plays at Florida State.
Kickoff at Doak Campbell Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Monday on ESPN. Kilgore is one of three returning linebackers for SMU, along with Brandon Booker and Brandon Miyazono.
