Bear Alexander denies he plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal: 'I'm here to finish what I started'

On Wednesday, reports surfaced of USC defensive tackle Bear Alexander entering the NCAA transfer portal once the window opened on April 16. If Alexander does leave, it would mark his third school in as many seasons after beginning his career at Georgia.

And Alexander would likely be quite a popular name on the market as not too many potential first-round talents become available this time of year. Suffice to say, plenty of teams would have lined up for Alexander’s services.

However, Alexander has since come out and put those reports to rest.

“I’m not crystal clear on all of the noise or what any of this portal mess is about,” Alexander said Wednesday via X. “I’m here to finish what I started and that’s chasing a natty here at USC with my teammates.”

According to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, a conversation between Alexander and the USC coaching staff took place after reports on his plans to enter the portal, and he’s since walked those plans back. Instead, USC will be bringing back a key defensive piece for the 2024 season.

Keeping Alexander is a big pull for USC as they move from the Pac-12 and into the Big Ten. Head coach Lincoln Riley hired D’Anton Lynn as the program’s next defensive coordinator, hoping that side of the ball takes a step forward.

More on Bear Alexander, college career thus far

As a true freshman at UGA in 2022, Alexander appeared in 12 games. He recorded nine tackles, including two sacks, during his one season with the Bulldogs, before entering the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-3, 313-pounder was immediately a top defender after transferring to USC. Alexander recorded 48 tackles for the Trojans in 2023, including 6.5 tackles for loss last season. He led the team with four quarterback hurries and was named honorable mention All Pac-12.

Alexanders is originally from Denton, TX but played high school football at IMG Academy, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 43 overall player in the country in the class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry rankings., a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Thus far in his college career, he has 57 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss across two seasons — one at Georgia and one at USC.

On3’s Matt Connolly contributed to this report