When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off against the USC Trojans in the final weekend of the regular season, the Trojans will be without one of their key defensive players—highly regarded lineman Bear Alexander.
According to a report from USCFootball.com, Alexander has opted to sit out the remainder of the season and take a redshirt.
Alexander, who played his freshman season at Georgia in 2022 before transferring to USC in 2023, appeared in 25 games over two seasons. He recorded 53 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, with most of his production coming during his time at USC.
He suited up for USC’s first three games of the 2024 season, including their heartbreaking last-second loss to Michigan. However, Alexander only played 21 defensive snaps in that game, during which USC struggled to contain Michigan’s running attack. After the game, Alexander took to X (formerly Twitter), seemingly airing his frustrations.
The report notes that Alexander practiced with the team on Tuesday before making the decision to redshirt. It remains unclear whether he will remain at USC or enter the transfer portal. Given his history of switching high schools and colleges, it wouldn’t be surprising if his time in USC’s ketchup-and-mustard uniforms is over.
College football, as always, is evolving away from the game we all grew up watching.