Back on Oct. 11, 2015, as, intercepted Kirk Cousins and ran it into the endzone to give the Falcons an overtime win, his mentor, Ryan Clark, knew all the work they put in together led to that moment.
A retired safety who played more than a decade in the NFL, Clark, a Super Bowl XLIII champion, spent the previous offseason with Alford, helping turn the 27-year-old into one of the league’s best No. 2 CBs. They spoke weekly throughout Atlanta’s 2015 campaign and, having formed a strong bond, are training again this month to prepare Alford for his contract year.