Bear Alexander excited about chance to 'make history' at Georgia
Georgia had to overcome a few twists and turns to get Bear Alexander in the fold. Now, a year after he enrolled, he’s projected to play a big role in the Bulldogs attempt at history.
When Alexander first committed to UGA, it had gone 41 years without a National Championship. Georgia had just broken that drought when the Texas native enrolled. Now the Bulldogs have two with a chance to three-peat — a notion that isn’t lost on the play-making defender.
“That’s the goal, to make history,” Alexander told DawgsHQ after Georgia beat TCU in the National Championship game. “We want to do something nobody has ever done before. Coach Smart says all the time that the younger guys inherited it and this opportunity doesn’t come around as much. So we want to take full advantage of it.”
Alexander definitely helped Georgia get to the top of the College Football mountain in 2022. When Jalen Carter was banged up early in the year, No. 99 took on a lot of those snaps, especially the ones on third down.
When Carter returned, Alexander’s snap count decreased but he stayed engaged. He continued to improve his craft and make the most of his reps. In all, the Big Bear played in 12 games with nine total tackles. He had three tackles for loss, two sacks, and two pass breakups on the year. One of those sacks and two of those tackles for loss came in the National Championship game.
Alexander had to earn it
There was nothing easy about Alexander’s start at Georgia. He was dealing with a torn labrum when he enrolled. Surgery was needed to correct the ailment and that went down in January of 2022.
He was unable to participate in spring drills but that wasn’t the only complication. Alexander says he was 340 pounds when his Georgia career started. He wasted no time in correcting that. He had lost almost 30 pounds by the start of the 2022 season and, when he spoke with DawgsHQ at Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl media day, he had dropped even more weight.
That weight loss changed the perception of him as a player. He went from a guy many expected to be an interior space eater like Jordan Davis to a twitchy disruptor capable of wrecking the game on third down.
Top 10
- 1Hot
College GameDay picks
Saban, Miss Terry conflicting picks
- 2New
Saban takes NIL stance
Nick Saban calls for balance
- 3Trending
ABC calls out Ole Miss
Fake injury draws ire
- 4New
Travis Hunter claps back
Colorado WR/CB trolls Richard Sherman
- 5
Refs 'personal problem'
Mark Stoops is not happy with calls
“I’m a DPR (designated pass rusher) guy,” Alexander said with a smile. “I came in at 340 pounds. Today, I’m 300 pounds so that’s a 40 pounds difference. Just conditioning with the strength staff and (Scott) Sinclair pushing me to the max.”
Maybe Georgia was always the pick?
Alexander first committed to Georgia in February of 2021. He spent four months as a Bulldog pledge before deciding to open things back up.
Texas A&M quickly became the heavily favorite as the Aggies were putting together a class that turned out to be historic on paper but much less in reality. Alexander never committed to the home-state school. He visited and flirted and many predicted it would go down, but it never did.
In October of 2021, less than two weeks after a visit to College Station, Alexander decided Georgia is where he wanted to be. He committed to the Bulldogs and all of the pre-existing drama and suspense that characterized his recruitment was gone.
“There was just something I couldn’t get my mind off (with Georgia),” Alexander said of his decision to re-commit to and sign with Georgia. “The way Tray Scott develops those guys and to see Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt and those guys go very high in the draft, it was a no-brainer.”
