The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Taheri to play at Cornell
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: April 5, 2007
Dexter's Alex Taheri will continue his football career at Cornell University this fall.
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The senior safety and kicker is the second Dreadnaught to commit to play college football this season. Last month, defensive tackle Nick Hiser committed to suit up for Adrian College.
Cornell plays Division I-AA football.
Taheri (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), who was recruited by the University of Chicago and Middlebury (Vermont) for football, said Cornell, which is in upstate New York, is a perfect fit for him.
"It's an Ivy League school and I was born in Buffalo," he said. "I like that area. I visited once and liked it. The campus is beautiful. It also has a big engineering school."
Taheri, who also considered Carnegie-Mellon, Colgate and Princeton academically, will major in engineering at Cornell.
"I hope to continue to play safety and kick at Cornell," said Taheri, who bench presses 205 pounds, squats 305 pounds and runs a 4.8 40-yard dash.
Though a hard-hitting defensive player for Dexter, Taheri made his mark as a kicker last season setting a school record with 37 extra points in a row.
"I didn't think much about it (record)," Taheri said. "I just kicked it (ball). I never really even planned on being a kicker. I mostly played soccer back in the day."
Thankfully, for Dexter coach Tom Barbieri, Taheri tried out for football once he entered high school.
"He was 'Mr. Automatic,'" Barbieri said. "We had a lot of faith in him. He was so accurate."
Besides setting the school record for consecutive extra points, Taheri also tied a school record with four field goals in a season and with two field goals in a single game.
"He's very polished," Barbieri said. "He's a 4.0 student. You look at him and say he's going to be successful someday."
Like his football kicks, Taheri also flies high as a licensed pilot.
"I've had my license since I was 17," he said. "I recently got a high-performance license. My dad got me into it (flying). He thought I might enjoy it, since I built model planes when I was young."
Taheri said he might make flying his career someday, but right now he simply does it for fun.
"It's a hobby," he said. "There's always a new challenge. It's relaxing for me."
Taheri, who is in the National Honor Society, helps with the Science Olympiad and was a nominee for Homecoming King last fall, said he'll never forget his high school football years.
"I'll always remember being with the guys at practice," he said. "We had a lot of fun."
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