USC FILM ROOM: Breaking down 10 plays from Bear Alexander's Trojans debut

As USC fans were bemoaning Alex Grinch's defense last Saturday, they may have overlooked some of the very encouraging individual performances, like that of high-profile five-star DT transfer Bear Alexander.

For that matter, Grinch and head coach Lincoln Riley both said they too didn't fully appreciate Alexander's performance until flipping on the film.

"You didn’t feel his presence as much in the stat sheet, but when you turned on the film on Sunday, you could see that presence," Riley said.

Said Grinch: "Yeah, watching the tape, I think Bear was more impactful probably on Saturday than I maybe thought he had [been]. You see the stat sheet, and you think some of those scrambles 'God dang, we didn't get pressure,' and then you watch it you say, ‘Oh man, some missed opportunities.’ ... But, no, Bear had an impact. I think he’ll continue to. I mean, you saw a guy ... that wasn’t with us beginning of the summer, missed a lot of time in fall camp -- again not his own doing, just the reality of football -- so no he’s just going to keep going in this direction. He’s a good guy to have.”

We too combed through the film from Saturday for our own evaluation of Alexander.

A five-star recruit in the 2022 class who played significant snaps down the stretch for the national champion Georgia Bulldogs, the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Alexander figured to be the most imposing figure on the interior of a USC defensive line desperately in need of difference-makers. In his first game as a Trojan, the big man showed his unique traits and ability to generate serious disruption, as well as the underdeveloped aspects of his game that will require refinement over time.

What the tape makes clear is that Alexander’s movement skills for a man of his size are special, plain and simple. His ability to accelerate and change direction are freaky for a 300-pounder, allowing him to do things from the interior of the line that few other players can replicate. His functional strength and size are already obvious advantages as well; the key for Alexander going forward will be to shore up his mental grasp of his responsibilities and to further develop his technique as a pass rusher.

Against San Jose State, he was a consistently disruptive presence for much of the game, physically outmatching the Spartans' offensive linemen for the most part and generating regular penetration. Even still, some of his losses were bad ones, indicating the necessity of continued development for the young defensive tackle.

I’ve pulled and broken down 10 of his most telling snaps in either direction from this game, and I’ll tell you right now; the good outweighs the bad by a good margin.

On the game’s opening drive, Alexander has his first big flash as a Trojan. On a clear pass-rushing down (third-and-5), the big defensive tackle begins the play lined up directly over the right guard. Alexander is explosive off the ball, timing the snap well and bursting out of his stance with power building from his lower body. The guard isn’t ready for the speed at which Alexander approaches and tries to anchor against the outside shoulder as the defender begins to angle toward it. In a flash, Alexander shimmies back inside, using a solid swipe move to knock away the lineman’s hands while leaving him in the dust and shooting into the backfield through the A gap.

Once he’s through, his abnormal movement skills for a 300-pound are put on display, allowing him to close the gap between himself and the quarterback rapidly. He successfully flushes Chevan Cordeiro out of the pocket and shows good pursuit, but Solomon Byrd doesn’t contain the edge well enough to make a stop.

On another obvious passing down, Alexander is given the third-and-long responsibility of spying the quarterback. That’s rarely a job assigned to 300-pound defensive lineman, but Alexander's athleticism makes it a reasonable decision. Here, he identifies the quarterback's roll to the right instantaneously and mirrors him along the line of scrimmage. Alexander is more than athletic enough to close ground appropriately -- you can see how well he moves as he flows out to the sideline. If Cordeiro had been able to scramble on this play, the defensive tackle would have at the very least met him at the line and forced him to redirect. However, a good pressure from Tackett Curtis forces a short throw, leading to a punt.