During Jaire Alexander’s first practice as a Raven, his new quarterback tested him immediately.

Lamar Jackson tried to beat him with a back-shoulder pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins as he was running a fade route. “Tried” being the key word, Alexander emphasized. Hopkins was out of bounds, and the catch was no good.

Alexander is quite familiar with Jackson’s game. They might not have shared a practice field the last seven years, but they dreamed about the possibility. Now that it’s a reality, Alexander said Jackson should have known better than to test him.

“I had to give him a little jazzzz about that,” Alexander said with a huge grin. “I said, ‘C’mon, man, I know it’s my first day, but man, you know, it’s still me. You know what I’m saying? It’s still me.’”

Jackson confirmed that sentiment when he spoke Wednesday.

“He’s still that guy,” Jackson said. “Jaire’s still that guy.”

Jackson and Alexander, former Louisville teammates, were reunited this offseason when Alexander signed with the Ravens as a free agent. His decision came the day after Jackson made a public statement that general manager Eric DeCosta should get Alexander.

Jackson is a key reason Alexander decided to come to Baltimore, where he signed a one-year, $4 million contract. When asked if he’d have made the same decision if Jackson weren’t on the team, he said: “Ahhh, that’d be tough, man. I’d probably explore more options. But that’s my boy, and I want to win with him.”

Even so, Alexander wasn’t completely sold after Jackson’s comment. He hadn’t finished the deal when he arrived in Baltimore. But everything clicked during his visit.

“Vibes never lie,” Alexander said. “I’m big on energy, energy exchange. So I got good vibes here. And it seemed like they wanted me here. They cared. That really played the biggest part into it.”

So far, his read on the vibes has been right. He’s liked what he’s seen of the city and the fans. He likes the way the team practices, even if it’s more intense than he’s used to. And he’s jelled with teammates, including cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who teammates recently called an alien in a team-produced video.

Humphrey spoke to the media the day Alexander signed June 23. At the time, he was extremely excited to get to know Alexander because he said he’d been told they were alike.

Over the break, the two messaged back and forth, breaking down each other’s game and strategizing how they’d work together. Once they returned, Alexander joined Humphrey and about seven others for their 6 a.m. workouts. There, Humphrey learned a key difference between the two.

“He’s like, man, I need a speaker right here, as loud as can be,” Humphrey said. “And I’m like we are not alike in that aspect at 6 am. But he’s a cool guy. We’re both, I would say, on a little bit of a strange side, but we’re really jelling well.”

Alexander would agree with the evaluation that he’s weird. However, he thinks Humphrey’s got him beat.

In addition to the rest of the secondary, Alexander has really liked what he’s seen from defensive coordinator Zach Orr. He’s relatable. He also runs a complex defense.

Humphrey said one of the biggest things for Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie, the other new veteran free agent to join the cornerbacks, is learning to read each other. He explained that, when safety Kyle Hamilton relays a call to Humphrey, he’s familiar enough to know whether Humphrey understood it from his facial expression. He said Alexander and Awuzie seem like extremely intelligent players, so he’s not worried.

Vibes and friendship are fantastic, but Alexander wants to win.

“I guess, in any NFL career, the span isn’t that long,” Alexander said. “So the time is now to win always. So I always want to put myself in that position. And I always want to uplift the team however I can.”

Two days into training camp, he likes what he’s seen, at least on the defensive side.

“Defense wins championships,” Alexander said. “Defense wins championships. So I’m in the right place to do that.”

And, while he’s on the practice field, he’ll be helping his old college buddy tighten things up on the other side of the field as the two test each other.