D'Anton Lynn addresses report Bear Alexander intends to redshirt, potentially transfer

Shortly before USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn held his weekly media availability, news broke of Bear Alexander’s decision to take a redshirt. As a result, he could enter the transfer portal after the 2024 season with two years of eligibility remaining, and Lynn declined comment on the situation.

Alexander spent the first three games of the 2024 season in a reserve role after putting up big numbers a year ago. He had just four tackles during that time and played only 21 snaps in last week’s loss to Michigan.

Lynn said Lincoln Riley would address Alexander’s decision during his next meeting with reporters, which is scheduled for Thursday. Otherwise, he didn’t say much on the matter.

“Coach Riley’s gonna touch on some of the personnel stuff next time he talks to you guys,” Lynn said Wednesday.

Alexander arrived at USC in 2023 after one year at Georgia, where he had nine tackles and 2.5 sacks as a freshman. He then committed to the Trojans as the No. 22 overall player in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings and made an immediate impact, totaling 48 tackles – including seven for loss – in his first year with the program.

Through three games this year, Alexander’s role became more of a reserve one. As for the depth at defensive tackle to replace him, Lynn expressed his confidence in USC’s group as the Big Ten schedule starts to ramp up.

“Feel good,” Lynn said. “We have a good rotation of guys. We feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team. There’s a handful of guys that can go in there. They can play, they can operate, they know what to do. We feel really good about the depth.”

Gavin Meyer on Bear Alexander: ‘I’m not really too tapped in with all that’

Gavin Meyer is sure to be one of those players who can step up after Bear Alexander’s decision to step away. He also deferred to Lincoln Riley, but noted his excitement about the other players USC has at defensive tackle who can help fill the void.

“It’s a great question for Coach Riley and all the depth chart kind of stuff … I’m not really too tapped in with all that right now,” Meyer said. “As far as the younger guys, there’s a lot of guys that I’m really excited about, for sure.”

News of Alexander’s decision came one day after Riley said there was “no story” about his role in the USC defense. Alexander’s guardian, Tony Jones, offered some harsh criticism about his role on social media. However, Riley indicated it wasn’t much of anything during his Tuesday media session.

“There’s no story there,” Riley said. “I know you guys are looking for one. There’s no story there. Guy’s out here working hard. He’s in a new system, with a new coach. He’s getting better, and I think he’s going to get better.

“It should be hard to play D-line at USC. It ought to be kind of hard. It wasn’t hard last year. That’s why were weren’t very good up front. You know what, we’re pretty decent up there. And it’s hard. The margins are thin. So sometimes, it’s not what someone is not doing, but it’s competitive, and there’s tough decisions to make every week.”