USC DT Bear Alexander to redshirt, sit out rest of season
A day after USC coach Lincoln Riley emphatically told reporters "there's no story here" when asked about defensive tackle Bear Alexander's usage and social media post expressing frustration with his role, it came to light Wednesday afternoon that Alexander will sit out the rest of the season and protect his redshirt with the implication that he'll look to transfer again.
Alexander was not spotted at USC's practice Wednesday.
USCFootball.com's Connor Morrissette first reported the news via text from Alexander's guardian/mentor Tony Jones, and the LA Times' Ryan Kartje followed with a confirmation report. Jones also confirmed the news to TrojanSports.com.
USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn had his weekly post-practice interview with media Wednesday and referred all questions on the matter to Riley.
"Coach Riley is going to touch on some of the personnel stuff next time he talks to you guys," Lynn said.
Questions about Alexander's role were asked to Riley on Tuesday a day after Alexander tweeted out "FREE 9-OWE" in the wake of USC's loss to Michigan, in which he played just 21 snaps (tied for third among Trojans defensive tackles).
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Riley tried to dismiss that there was anything worth asking about regarding Alexander.
"He played over a third of the game. So people want to act like the guy's not playing snaps. He's doing a good job for us out here. He's getting better. There's no story there. I know you guys are looking for one, there's no story there," Riley said Tuesday. "The guy's out here working hard, he's improving, he's in a new system with a new coach. He's getting better. I think he's going to continue to get better. It should be hard to play D-line at USC. Like, it ought to be kind of hard. It wasn't hard last year, and that's why we weren't very good up there. We're pretty decent up there, and it's hard, and the margins are thin.
"Sometimes it's not what somebody's not doing. It's competitive and there's tough decisions to make every week. But if you see guys out on the field then we are excited about what they're doing on the practice field and believe that they give us a chance to win. Go look at the last snap of the game and see who's on the field. So there's no story there. The guy's getting better. He needs to keep improving and I'm confident that he will with the coaching that he has and the room that we have him in."
Alexander had played 28, 20 and 21 defensive snaps in USC's first three games after not playing fewer than 34 in any game last season and often more in the 50-60 range.
Alexander tied for 13th nationally last season among quarterback pressures by an interior defensive lineman (32), per PFF. He has just 2 pressures and 4 tackles through three games this season while playing behind starters Gavin Meyer and Nate Clifton. Alexander tied with redshirt senior Kobe Pepe with those 21 defensive snaps Saturday.
A former five-star prospect, Alexander transferred to USC after his freshman season at Georgia, debuting with the Trojans last year as a sophomore.
There was buzz in the spring that Alexander was going to re-enter the transfer portal, but whatever fire there was behind that smoke, he extinguished it with a tweet on April 10 that said, "I'm not crystal clear on all of the noise or what any of this portal mess is about. I'm here to finish what I started and that's chasing a natty here at USC with my teammates."
Speaking this preseason, in his first interview since all that played out, Alexander said he cleared the air with Riley around that time and reiterated his desire to finish what he started here.
"You know, it's always chaos around that time, it's noisy. I just thought it was a great [time] to kind of lower the noise," he said. "Just going and just speaking with coach and just making sure that guys knew, man, I was in it for my teammates and this season coming up ahead of us. ... I love it here, this is where I want to be -- let's get it done here."
Now, it seems the tune has again changed.
If Alexander indeed sits out the rest of the season with the intention of transferring, USC is left with Meyer, Clifton, Pepe, Devan Thompkins, sophomore Elijah Hughes, who has surprisingly played sparingly this season (just 11 defensive snaps), and untested true freshman Jide Abasiri as the top defensive tackles.
On USC's latest official depth chart (which has removed Alexander), Abasiri is listed second-team behind Meyer while Pepe and Hughes are listed as an "OR" behind Clifton.
Lynn did address the defensive tackle depth Wednesday.
"I feel good. We have a good rotation of guys. We feel like that’s one of the strengths of the team, as far as just there's a handful of guys that you can go in there, they can play, they can operate and they know what to do. So we feel really good about the depth," Lynn said.
He was also asked what earned Meyer and Clifton the starting roles there -- ahead of Alexander -- in the first place.
“Just consistency, and just seeing them do it every single day, and just how fast they picked everything up and how fast you saw them grow in the scheme," Lynn said.