Tag: bear alexander

Does Bear Alexander give USC a championship defense?

On their Sunday show at the @VoiceOfCFB, @TrojanConquests and @LBCTrojan discussed the big story: Bear Alexander to #USC.

Bear Alexander gives USC one of its most important transfer portal acquisitions of the Lincoln Riley era. Caleb Williams is obviously the most important transfer in recent USC history. Only time will tell if Bear Alexander will be talked about on the same level and in the same tones. USC fans certainly hope he will be. If so, this means USC will have taken a significant step forward on defense, elevating itself to a Pac-12 championship standard and, very possibly, the College Football Playoff in 2023.

If Bear Alexander really is as good as his reputation suggests, and if this Kirby Smart-coached freshman can hit his stride with USC as a sophomore under Alex Grinch, the Trojans will receive an upgrade at the very position where they needed help. Their run defense will get better. Their toughness and size up front will become more pronounced. Other defensive linemen will benefit from the attention offensive linemen have to pay to the Bear. The domino effect could be notable in its scope and scale.

At The Voice of College Football, co-hosts Tim Prangley and Rick Anaya discuss the acquisition of Bear Alexander on their show, Trojan Conquest Live, which airs Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific. Subscribe to, like, and share the USC channel at The Voice of College Football.

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USC’s run of elite recruiting has one superstar left to go: Bronny James

Isaiah Collier, No. 1 MBB recruit. Juju Watkins, No. 1 WBB recruit. Bear Alexander, No. 1 portal prospect. Can #USC land Bronny now?

It has been a remarkable college sports cycle for USC athletics in its revenue sports. The Trojans put both basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament and reached a New Year’s Six bowl in football, something done by only two other schools in this cycle: Alabama and Tennessee.

USC recruited the top-ranked prospects in men’s and women’s basketball, landing Isaiah Collier and JuJu Watkins. It retained Boogie Ellis for one more season. It just landed the top-ranked (spring) transfer portal prospect, Bear Alexander. We’re waiting to see if the Trojans can close the door and land Bronny James, who — though not the No. 1 prospect on the board — would carry value beyond recruiting rankings. Bronny choosing USC would make Trojan basketball much more of a destination program for other recruits. USC becoming “the place to be” for basketball, not just football, is exactly how Andy Enfield can build the Trojans into a Final Four-level program, a team which can expect to contend for college basketball’s biggest prizes. Let’s say more about this below:

Twitter reacts: Georgia DL Bear Alexander commits to USC

How did CFB Twitter react after UGA’s Bear Alexander transferred to USC?

Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Bear Alexander is intending to transfer to the USC Trojans. Alexander’s departure is a blow to defensive line depth for Georgia football.

As a true freshman, Bear Alexander recorded nine total tackles and two sacks. Alexander’s strong performance in the national championship game against TCU gave fans and coaches a look at his potential.

The former four-star recruit should have a larger role with the Trojans. Alexander is expected to make a difference for USC’s troublesome defense. Last season, the Trojans finished No. 94 in scoring defense; they allowed an average of 29.2 points per game. Alexander leaves Georgia, which had the nation’s fifth-ranked scoring defense. In 2022, the Bulldogs allowed an average of 14.3 points per game.

For perspective, Georgia has allowed more than 29 points just three times over the past two seasons. The Bulldogs have five shutouts over the same period of time.

Here’s how college football Twitter reacted at Bear Alexander transferred from Georgia to USC:

USC moves to No. 3 in On3 transfer portal rankings for 2023

Another year, another offseason with Lincoln Riley pulling in a top-three transfer portal class. #USC

The USC Trojans won Sunday night by landing a massive transfer portal upgrade in Georgia defensive lineman Bear Alexander. After the frustrating season defensively for USC, getting a player of Alexander’s caliber is a huge get and a welcomed addition for DC Alex Grinch.

As a result, USC moved to No. 3 in the transfer portal rankings, per On3, and they remain behind the Colorado Buffaloes and UCLA Bruins.

The defense was the biggest issue in the first year with Lincoln Riley running the show, and that has become the main focus this offseason, especially with College Football Playoff hopes surrounding the team.

Arkansas and Wisconsin are behind USC, and the hire of Luke Fickell has worked wonders fore the Badgers.

Nonetheless, the Trojans have done a great job in the transfer portal: Oklahoma State LB Mason Cobb and Arizona WR Dorian Singer are a couple of other players who made their way to Southern California this offseason.

With Bear Alexander, the trojans add another formidable defensive piece, which is exactly what they needed.

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Bear Alexander boosts USC but puts more pressure on Alex Grinch to deliver

Alex Grinch didn’t have Bear Alexander in 2022. He gained the talent upgrade he needs in order to prove his worth to Lincoln Riley.

The Alex Grinch conversation just became a lot more interesting. We wrote the following after the Cotton Bowl about Alex Grinch at USC:

“You can be an Alex Grinch pessimist and skeptic. You can want Alex Grinch to be fired. You can have the most negative, unfavorable impression of Grinch and give him the least charitable evaluation and still agree on one point: USC did not have a lot of high-end studs on defense this season.”

We later added that “Alex Grinch certainly deserves a ton of blame for what happened in the Cotton Bowl and throughout the 2022 season, but personnel was undeniably lacking.”

Grinch didn’t coach well, but he didn’t have defensive linemen as good as Bear Alexander.

Now that the talent has been upgraded at USC, Alex Grinch has fewer excuses. Let’s explore more about this below:

Bear Alexander gives USC something it lacked in 2022

#USC did not have a defensive lineman like Bear Alexander on last season’s roster.

The USC Trojans had Tuli Tuipulotu on last season’s roster and their 2022 defensive line. We’re not here to tell you that Bear Alexander is better than Tuli ever was, because Tuli was special for USC and the main reason last year’s bad defense wasn’t significantly worse. Tuipulotu carried the USC defense and was the only defensive lineman who displayed rock-solid reliability on a regular basis.

All of that being said, however: Tuli isn’t the same kind of player Bear Alexander is.

Alexander, who chose to play USC on Sunday evening and gave the Trojans a huge splash in the transfer portal, is a stronger and thicker defensive lineman than Tuli is. Alexander was listed at 305 pounds as a freshman, and USC observers say he has already bulked up to 315. Tuli was 290 pounds as a junior. USC is beefing up not just in terms of depth, but size. Alexander should boost the Trojans’ run-stuffing performance, which is so crucial for all the obvious reasons, but also because college football games will have fewer plays this season due to rule changes.

USC just received help in the area of performance where it needed the most reinforcements. The Trojans got better on the interior of their defensive line, mostly because they got bigger. Bear Alexander isn’t just a quality addition to a roster, a “best player available” in the portal (though he might very well be). He fits a specific and acute team need, the biggest reason USC fans are so excited to have him here.

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Twitter reaction to USC landing Bear Alexander in the transfer portal

Big news, big reactions. #USC pounced on a Bear market in the transfer portal.

It happened. The USC Trojans successfully convinced Bear Alexander to play for them in the 2023 college football season. The former Georgia defensive lineman chose USC on Sunday night, giving the Men of Troy a massive — literally and figuratively — addition to their team. Alexander instantly makes USC bigger, stronger, thicker, and more powerful on its defensive line. It’s the home run Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch needed to hit in the transfer portal to upgrade USC’s uncertain and unproven defense.

USC fans are pretty happy, as you can imagine. Analysts and commentators are impressed. Let’s see how the reactions rolled in on a story which definitely changes how we will view USC’s defense heading into the summer:

Breaking: Georgia DL transfer Bear Alexander commits to USC

Bear Alexander committed to the Trojans over Colorado, Oregon, Miami, Penn State and Texas.

One of the top players in the transfer portal is heading out west to USC. Former Georgia defensive lineman Bear Alexander committed to the Trojans over Colorado, Oregon, Miami, Penn State and Texas on Sunday night.

Lincoln Riley and USC continue to clean up with high-profile transfers. Last offseason, USC added Heisman trophy winner Caleb Williams and star wideout Jordan Addison from the portal.

Alexander is going to be a key piece to a USC defense that struggled at times in 2022. He should help sure up the Trojans’ run defense and add another pass rusher to the front seven.

Alexander broke out onto the scene in the national championship game against TCU. The freshman tallied two sacks in Georgia’s 65-7 rout of the Horned Frogs. Georgia expected Alexander to play a heavy role in their rotation this season, but the talented defensive lineman is Calif. bound.

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Bear Alexander chooses USC, gives Trojans huge lift in transfer portal

The Bear is here. #USC, Lincoln Riley, and Alex Grinch hit the grand slam they absolutely needed in the portal.

Bear Down? That’s for the Arizona Wildcats. Bear market? That’s for Cal, where the Golden Bears are in decline and have lost a lot of stock value. The USC Trojans are simply going to be a bear for the next few years. They’re going to be hard to beat now that they have landed the top-ranked prospect in the 2023 spring window of the college football transfer portal.

Bear Alexander, the Georgia defensive lineman who played in the national championship game in Los Angeles this past January, chose USC on Sunday evening. Alexander was expected to be a core part of Kirby Smart’s defense this year with Georgia. He was going to be a main component of the Bulldogs’ push for a third consecutive national championship.

This is not a situation in which a national title-caliber program discarded a player because it already had sufficient quality and depth. This was a case of Alexander ostensibly being part of an elite program’s plans, but wanting a change of scenery and maybe different kind of challenge.

The boost this gives USC on paper is substantial. As long as it translates to the field this fall, the Trojans should be noticeably better on defense in 2023, which is exactly what they and Alex Grinch need to contend for the College Football Playoff this year.

We’ll have much more on this story at Trojans Wire.

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A reminder: Bear Alexander is the top-ranked transfer portal prospect

Before he announces his choice, Bear Alexander is worth spotlighting for a simple reason: He’s the top-ranked portal entrant.

Bear Alexander will announce his transfer destination Sunday night. Before that decision arrives (or even if you’re reading this after his choice), let’s make one thing clear: Alexander is not a modest talent or a peripheral, secondary piece. He is, according to On3 Sports and other evaluators, the top-ranked prospect in the spring transfer portal window.

Let’s remind you what our partners at UGA Wire wrote when the news of Alexander’s transfer hit the headlines earlier this month:

“If Alexander transfers, it will be a tough loss for Georgia’s defensive line. The Bulldogs were counting on Alexander having a much larger role in 2023.

“Alexander instantly becomes one of the most talented players in the NCAA transfer portal.”

Bear Alexander did not fall out of favor in Athens. Georgia’s coaching staff liked him and was hoping he would be part of a run at a third straight national championship. This is not a case of an ultra-successful program discarding a peripheral piece who has failed to live up to expectations. No, this is a sophomore whose stock is rising and who is expected to be a prime player in 2023.

Now comes his Sunday decision. We’ll be here covering it.

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