Lincoln Riley the main draw at USC for Georgia DL transfer

Bear Alexander has an appropriate name for what he does. 

He's a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman who played his freshman season for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, notching nine tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks en route to helping the Bulldogs win the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022-23.

Alexander is a young player brimming with star potential, but he, unfortunately, didn't feel the fit was there at Georgia—despite the national championship.

Upon entering the transfer portal in April he received offers from the likes of Colorado, Texas, Oregon, Miami and Penn State, but it was the offer from the USC Trojans that piqued his interest the most.

The reason? USC's head coach, Lincoln Riley, is the real deal, per the 300-pound big man.

"I mean, it's Lincoln Riley," Alexander told ESPN regarding his transfer commitment to USC. "Just watching their production from last year, they lost two games, barely lost to Utah ... if Caleb [Williams] wasn't hurt, they would have definitely been in that. It's Lincoln Riley, and I'm excited to go play for that guy."

To Alexander's point, the Trojans had made the Pac-12 championship game and were ranked No. 4 in the CFP rankings heading into their contest against Utah. Unfortunately, Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams was hobbled in that game and the Trojans lost to the Utes, 47-24. 

With that loss, USC's CFP hopes were dashed, but to Alexander's point, as long as the Trojans have Riley at the helm they should remain contenders.

He also feels he can be a key piece of USC's defense moving forward.

"Not to brag on myself, but everyone wants the Big Bear," Alexander said. "Everyone needs a big 300-pounder that can move with the twitch, the burst, the explosion that I bring to the game. Everyone needed that as a part of their defense."