COSTA MESA — Joe Alt dwarfed the press room podium during his introductory news conference on Friday at the Chargers’ headquarters. He was nearly as tall as the powder blue backdrop with the team’s logo and its car sponsor splashed across it. His new lightning bolt cap barely fit atop his head.
Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 321 pounds, Alt was a commanding presence as he met with the Chargers’ coaching staff, toured the facility, spoke with reporters and posed for photos with Coach Jim Harbaugh and General Manager Joe Hortiz less than 24 hours after he was selected fifth in the NFL draft.
Alt, 21, spoke of his varied background as a quarterback and tight end in his early years in high school, as a hockey player until he literally outgrew the sport in second grade and as a basketball player, too. All of which he credited with his ascension to the fifth overall pick in the draft.
Alt’s father, John, was an offensive lineman for 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and emphasized the importance of participating in other sports as well as playing other football positions. Alt’s older brother, Mark, is a former NHL defenseman who played with the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and the Kings.
“I grew up playing quarterback all the way through my sophomore year in high school, and for me the biggest thing was learning how an entire defense worked,” Alt said. “I started playing tight end during my junior year in high school and transitioned to the offensive line when I got to Notre Dame as a freshman.”
Asked what kind of a quarterback he was while at Tinto-Grace High School in Findley, Minnesota, Alt said with a hearty laugh, “I was a bigger quarterback, let’s be real. I ran the ball most of the time. I had a decent arm, but it was mostly just running the ball on sweeps.”
John Alt said he had little doubt Joe would follow in his footsteps as an offensive lineman, however. Joe had a comparable build when he was the same age as his father. He was athletic and strong and grew to be an inch taller than his father, experiencing a 5-inch growth spurt in high school.
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“Joe had my frame even as a 9- or 10-year-old,” said John Alt, who coached his son through youth sports and into high school. “I knew where he was going to end up. But I just wanted to give him a chance to play other positions and learn the game. I think that’s a great experience for anybody.”
Alt settled on Notre Dame after the only Big Ten schools to recruit him as a lineman were Minnesota and Iowa. He played 13 games as a freshman for the Fighting Irish, starting eight. He started 13 games as a sophomore and 12 as a junior, earning first team All-American honors each season.
Last month at the NFL Draft Combine, Alt ran 5.05 seconds for the 40-yard dash, one of a number of eye-catching results in front of team executives, coaches and scouts. The Chargers were sold on him after meeting with him, determined to make him the first draft pick in the Harbaugh-Hortiz era.
Harbaugh and Hortiz made it clear Alt led their must-have list going into the draft.
“Being wanted is one of the best feelings in the world,” Alt said. “Being at a position that the coaches and people feel matters, it just makes you want to do it that much more and want to do it for them because they care so much about it. Now, it’s my job to go get back to work and go put my best foot forward and do the best I can for whatever this team asks of me.”
Chargers first-round draft pick Joe Alt, left, and his father, former NFL offensive lineman John Alt, pose for a photo during an introductory press conference on Friday in Costa Mesa. Joe Alt, selected with the fifth overall pick on Thursday, is an offensive tackle. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)