USC Football: Defensive Transfer Shares Insight on All-Down Contribution

The USC defense needed some improvement after their disastrous showing in the 2022 season. It was no secret; the fans knew it, the country knew it, and so did the coaching staff.

Significant changes needed to be made, and they sure were, as they brought in a new batch of transfers on the defensive side of the ball. One player who will certainly make a significant impact is defensive lineman Bear Alexander.

Alexander is coming from Georgia and is a mammoth of a man standing at 6'3", 205 pounds, from Texas. He helped guide the Bulldogs to a national championship last season, and he will try to do the same with the Trojans, but in a much bigger role.

USC football analyst Josh Webb explained how Alexander wants to prove he can be a generalist for the team and not just a specialist like he was in Georgia.

“Alexander feels his options at USC are greater than the ones he had at Georgia. It is not very often that a top-100 commit (No. 56) flips from a national champion,” Webb wrote.

“Alexander is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds and is growing. With Georgia taking guys like him and turning them into highly-sought commodities in the NFL draft, it might seem counter-intuitive for Alexander to leave Kirby Smart for a coach like Lincoln Riley. Yet it’s precisely because Georgia has such a track record that Alexander felt he would play more at USC. Georgia primarily used him in third-down situations, but Alexander felt he was more effective on first and second downs."

(via Trojans Wire)

Alexander knows he can bring more to a championship-level team and wants to show that right way this upcoming season.

“‘I feel as if there wasn’t a significant amount of snaps [at Georgia],”

Alexander said to ESPN

. “I was more of a pass-rush specialist in year one, so coming into the spring, I wanted to be in a position where I could show my versatility as a player. I felt like I wasn’t able to do that at Georgia. I was a third-down specialist, and I’m more of a first-, second-down player. I can play every down.'”

(via Trojans Wire)

The 19-year-old was mainly used on third down stops, so he didn't get a chance to shine like he'd hoped. However, now that he is at USC with much more responsibility, he will be able to prove himself right.

He will be responsible for improving the defense and bring the type of championship defense USC has been lacking for some time. We cannot wait to see how the defense will look and how Alexander will look in a much bigger role.