JD PicKell evaluates the impact of Bear Alexander transferring to USC

When it’s all said and done for the 2023 college football season, Bear Alexander has a chance to go down as the most impactful offseason transfer. The former Georgia defensive tackle chose USC after entering the portal earlier this month and, in the eyes of On3’s J.D. PicKell, makes the Trojans defensive front a force to be reckoned with.

USC notably struggled on defense in 2022, especially at the end of the year. The Trojans were over-reliant on turnover margin and volatile things of that nature. With Alexander anchoring the middle of the defense, they’ll have something steady to build the defense around.

“The obvious piece of this, and we talked about it on a previous video on this channel, it’s an area of need for the Trojans. The defense has got some ground to make up to ultimately get this team to where they want to go. And it all starts in the trenches. The line of scrimmage. That is what wins you games in college football. And so for Bear Alexander to now join the Trojans, you start looking at the way this defensive line is shaping up and you’re like, ‘OK, you’ve got a presence in the middle.’ A Top 50 recruit in the middle,” PicKell said.

Alexander was one of the best defensive linemen in the 2022 signing class, rated four stars and No. 43 in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He originally signed with Georgia over a spate of Division I offers.

At USC, he joins some other touted players who he can complement from the middle of the defensive line. PicKell started rolling through other former top recruits USC has along the edge of the defensive line. The Trojans have one of the few defensive linemen with a higher rating from the 2021 than Alexander in edge rusher Korey Foreman, who was the No. 1 overall recruit per the On3 Industry Ranking. Along with Foreman, USC has four-star recruit Anthony Lucas joining the program from the 2023 class.

Altogether, PicKell thinks it gives USC the chance to dominate along the defensive line in the Pac 12.

So you start to add the pieces together you say, ‘OK, Bear Alexander in the middle of that mix? The Trojans are putting together a pretty nice defensive front.’ So big-time get for USC,” PicKell said. “Bear Alexander is going to wreck shop in the Pac 12.”