USC DL, former UGA transfer, Bear Alexander plans to re-enter NCAA Transfer portal

USC defensive lineman Bear Alexander is on the move once again. The Texas native plans to re-enter the NCAA transfer portal after one season at USC per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Alexander started his career at Georgia, helping the Bulldogs to the 2022 national championship with a win over TCU.

As a true freshman at UGA in 2022, Bear 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.

Bear Alexander was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 43 overall player in the country in the class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry rankings. He was also ranked as the No. 7 defensive lineman.

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. It will be interesting to see where he ends up next.

Out of high school, Alexander had offers from several of the top programs in the country, including Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Miami and plenty of others.

He was down to a final six of Colorado, Miami, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, and USC last spring after entering the transfer portal, before picking the Trojans.

Alexander spoke with On3’s JD PicKell at the time about his decision.

“Overall, it’s up and coming. We’re building from the ground up. It was a pretty good fit for me overall,” Alexander said last spring of USC. “In high school, coach Lincoln [Riley] recruited me and I loved OU at the time. So it was pretty much a quick deciding factor when it came to it.”

Alexander also explained his decision to leave Georgia and what went into it.

“I mean it was hard, you know. Those are my brothers. Tray Scott developed me a ton just in my time being there. It was hard. Pretty hard for me,” Alexander said. “Leaving, it wasn’t an easy decision.”

USC finished the 2023 season with an 8-5 record, struggling particularly on defense. Quarterback Caleb Williams put up big numbers but the defense couldn’t get enough stops. The Trojans will certainly miss having Alexander on the defensive side of the ball this season.