Former Georgia DL Bear Alexander to Transfer to USC over Texas, Miami, Colorado, More

The back-to-back reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs are losing some key defensive players to the NFL draft, but they lost another top defender to the transfer portal.

Defensive lineman Bear Alexander announced that he has transferred to USC. According to Hayes Fawcett of On3.com, he chose the Trojans over Miami, Texas and Colorado, among others.

Alexander told ESPN's Tom VanHaaren that he was entering his name into the portal on the first day of the spring transfer window.

Fawcett noted that he was ranked as the top overall player available in On3.com's transfer portal rankings. He has three years of eligibility remaining, as he will be entering his sophomore season in 2023.

Alexander appeared in 12 games as a true freshman last season, finishing with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and two passes defended. He made his presence felt during the Bulldogs' 65-7 blowout of TCU in the national title game, finishing with two tackles for loss and a sack.

"I see what I always see from him," former Georgia safety Chris Smith said of Alexander after the victory. "Bear's a helluva talent, man. Such a hard worker, and like I said, he's going to be a problem for years to come."

In addition to Smith, the Bulldogs are set to lose standout defensive tackle Jalen Carter, linebacker Nolan Smith and cornerback Kelee Ringo to next week's draft. Each of them is considered to be among the best at their respective positions.

Still, Georgia is in good position to make a run at a third straight national title next season after head coach Kirby Smart brought in another strong recruiting class.