Former Five-Star Leaves Second Powerhouse College Football Program

Just one day after USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley scolded the media for trying to make a "story" out of Bear Alexander not playing very much in the team's loss to the Michigan Wolverines, the former five-star recruit became a story on Wednesday.

As reported by 247Sports ' Connor Morrissette and confirmed by On3 , Alexander has decided to redshirt and is expected to transfer to what will be the third program of his college career. The decision came after Alexander played just 21 of 58 snaps in the team's 27-24 Week 4 loss to the Wolverines, and then took to social media with a post captioned " FREE 9-OWE . "

His guardian, Tony Jones, also went on a social media rant directed at fans who called out Alexander for his lack of effort, and for a missed tackle against Michigan.

This is now the second time that Alexander has left a premier program after being expected to have a major role. He also left Georgia after the Bulldogs won the title in 2022 because he didn't win the starting role heading into his sophomore campaign, according to reports .

Something that appeared to be the case this time around as well, as he went from starting 12 of 13 games last season to not recording a start this season. Morrissette also revealed that Alexander had seen his average snap count go from 50 per game in 2023 to 23 this season.

As a recruit, Rivals ranked Alexander as the No. 9 player in the country and No. 2 defensive lineman in the country. He chose Georgia over programs like Miami, Texas A&M and Alabama.

As a transfer, 247Sports ranked Alexander as the No. 14 player in the portal prior to last season, and as the No. 1 defensive lineman. Following whiffs at two of college football's best programs, it's unclear what kind of market he will command this time around.

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