LOS ANGELES — The tide changed in the past 24 hours with one extended conversation, USC head coach Lincoln Riley and new defensive line coach Eric Henderson making their pitches to sway Bear Alexander to remain a Trojan.
On Tuesday morning, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Southern California News Group that Alexander, a former Georgia transfer and a cornerstone of USC’s defensive rebuild, was planning to enter the transfer portal when the spring window opened in mid-April. He and family had sat down and evaluated their situation, feeling Alexander would be better served closer to home in Texas.
Reports and rumors quickly spread throughout the day, anticipating USC would lose a defensive-line presence who’d shown flashes of dominance in 2023 and carried clear potential.
Riley, Henderson, Alexander and his family all hopped on a group call, where Riley made “clear as day” – as the source said – he didn’t want to lose Alexander.
On Wednesday morning, Alexander put a swirl of rumors to rest with a direct address on Twitter.
“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,” Alexander wrote, “and that’s chasing a natty here at USC with my teammates.”
With Alexander and Texas A&M transfer Isaiah Raikes entrenched at defensive tackle, the Trojans now have two SEC-level bodies to clog up the middle on their defensive line, a clear step toward the size and physicality up front Riley’s emphasized in USC’s attempt at a defensive turnaround. And after a season recording 48 tackles and four QB hurries, Alexander has a clear opportunity to develop into an NFL prospect under Henderson, who’s made an immediate impact in the past few months after a five-year stint coaching the Rams’ defensive line.
On the call, the source said, Henderson laid out summer plans for Alexander, detailing training and a development process similar to how he’d worked with former Rams great Aaron Donald. Large NIL offers likely laid elsewhere for Alexander were he to hit the portal; ultimately, the source said, Alexander chose to stay at USC and work with Henderson rather than absorb the backlash of transferring again.
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“The elements that he’s gon’ get under Coach Henny,” the source told the Southern California News Group, “you can’t even really quantify that with a dollar amount.”
Alexander’s confirmed presence gives USC some breathing room, as the Trojans have plenty of young depth up the middle of their defensive line but little proven talent beyond Alexander and Raikes. And it’ll put to rest a whirlwind of a couple days, with Alexander tabbed as a key piece of USC’s defense heading into the Big Ten.
