Over the last several months, BYU has started to recruit the state of Georgia more consistently. On Friday, those recruiting efforts paid off when Georgia defensive back Therrian Alexander III committed to the Cougars. Alexander picked BYU over competing Power Five offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and NC State. He also held offers from the likes of UAB, Western Kentucky, and Georgia Southern among others.
Alexander is a long, lean defensive back listed at 6-2.5 and 165 pounds. Cornerbacks with his size and speed are hard to find on the recruiting trail which is why he was coveted by various Power Five programs.
Alexander becomes one of BYU's highest-rated commits in the 2024 class and someone that BYU can build around on the defensive side. BYU cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford deserves a lot of credit for building a relationship with Alexander that was enough to over the geographical hurdles in Alexander's recruitment. Coach Kelly Poppinga was also a major player in his recruitment.
BYU's defensive staff has prioritized since the hiring of Kelly Poppinga. Poppinga recruited the Atlanta area when he was on the staff at Virginia. After a one-year stint at Boise State in 2022, Coach Poppinga returned to BYU when the Cougars hired new defensive coordinator Jay Hill. Coach Poppinga promised to continue recruiting Georgia as a BYU coach despite the nearly 1,600 miles between Provo and Atlanta. Because of the geographical limitations, Georgia is a state that BYU has rarely recruited.
Alexander is the ninth commit in BYU's 2024 class. He joins fellow commits Ryner Swanson, Adney Reid, Enoch Watson, Siosefa Brown, Thomas Prassas, Jett Nelson, Dallin Johnson, and Carson Sue'esu'e.
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