A transfer portal target who Penn State was after has committed to another Big Ten school.
Friday night, word got out that Bear Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive tackle, had committed to Oregon.
BREAKING: USC transfer DL Bear Alexander has committed to Oregon, per @Hayesfawcett3🦆 https://t.co/Loy12ZTvhb pic.twitter.com/78EJomdMo0
— On3 (@On3sports) December 21, 2024
Alexander is a player Penn State wanted, and it hosted him for visit this past weekend.
When he first entered the transfer portal after his true freshman season of 2022 at Georgia, Penn State was amongst his finalists. He ended up picking USC, where he played for more than a year. Interestingly, Alexander left USC’s program in late September of this past season, and thus didn’t play in Penn State’s 33-30 win at the Coliseum Oct. 12.
WHAT DID BEAR BRING TO THE TABLE?
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 31: Georgia Bulldogs Defensive Linemen Bear Alexander (99) tackles Ohio State Buckeyes Running Back Dallan Hayden (5) during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes on December 31, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire)
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Alexander was getting a decent amount of playing time at the time he departed USC. This year, he has played 68 total snaps through three games per Pro Football Focus, with 28 of those coming in the team’s upset win over LSU Week 1.
IN NEED OF REINFORCEMENTS
Photo by Matt Lynn, Nittany Sports Now; Deion Barnes.
Aside from receiver, perhaps Penn State football’s biggest need of this transfer portal cycle is defensive tackle. Dvon J-Thomas (sixth-year) and Coziah Izzard (fifth-year) will be out of eligibility, and Zane Durant (third-year) has played well enough to where declaring for the NFL Draft is an option. So Penn State needs bodies, and a talented player like Alexander could have helped help.
Penn State has its first-ever College Football Playoff game scheduled for noon Dec. 21 against SMU on TNT/MAX.
