USC lands elite DL Bear Alexander in college football transfer portal

A major defensive pickup for USC out of the college football transfer portal as former Georgia prospect Bear Alexander joins the Trojans

Defense was the major concern for USC last season and the main culprit in the team missing out on a Pac-12 title and College Football Playoff berth, but now the beleaguered unit made a vital addition from the transfer portal after defensive lineman Bear Alexander announced his commitment to the Trojans.

Alexander was a former top-75 prospect nationally coming out of high school as a recruit and a consensus top-5 player on the defensive line.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, Alexander is considered a dynamic and promising lineman who can generate a pass rush and pressure the quarterback.

He played on 163 defensive snaps for Georgia over the past season as a true freshman, recording nine total stops with three tackles for loss and two sacks.

Related: 2023 College Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Alexander was listed as the No. 9 player from the state of Florida and the No. 9 defensive line recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

More: College Football Transfer Portal Team Rankings

College football transfer portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office. Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.

The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.

Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.

Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him. And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.

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