Dan Lanning addresses the belief that Bear Alexander quit on USC, past teams

The Oregon Ducks made a splash in the transfer portal this offseason. That included head coach Dan Lanning bringing in defensive lineman Bear Alexander, who has bounced around college football and was most recently with the USC Trojans.

At one point, Alexander was a highly-touted recruit. He was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022, coming in as the 43rd-ranked player overall in that recruiting cycle. With that, he began his career at Georgia before his transfers started.

It’s those transfers that have since drawn some criticism nationally from fans who think he may have quit on past teams. However, as Fall Camp is set to begin, Lanning pushed back on that and praised his work ethic since he’s gotten to Oregon.

“Well, Bear’s worked his tail off since he’s been here,” Dan Lanning said. “I think he understands the perception that’s out there, and like you said, perception isn’t always reality.”

Bear Alexander had previously played at multiple high schools before beginning his college career. In that college career, he played one season with Georgia, helping the Bulldogs win a national championship. In April of 2023, he’d then make the move to USC. However, in September of 2024, early in his second season with the Trojans, he stepped away to take a redshirt and transfer again. Ultimately, he’d land with the Ducks.

For his career, Bear Alexander has appeared in 28 college games. In that time, he has 61 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks. His full season with USC in 2023 was by far where most of that production stemmed from.

“He puts in more time when it comes to film study,” Lanning said. “When it comes to extra work, than almost anybody in our program. And I think that speaks to his commitment. I also think he realized, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity for me to really set the stage for what am I going to be defined as moving forward.’ And he realized, everybody wants individual success, but I think Bear’s one of those guys that realize that comes through team success. He’s a guy that understands what the standard looks like, and there was some in between there for him.”

One thing that Dan Lanning does have with Bear Alexander that should help at Oregon is a relationship going back years. Lanning had been on the defensive staff at Oregon through 2021. As such, he was at one point recruiting him to Georgia before getting his opportunity with the Ducks.

“But, you know, I think he felt really comfortable coming here,” Lanning said. “Knowing that what it was like in Georgia, and how can he recreate some of that experience coming to a place like Oregon, the relationship there certainly mattered. I’m excited to see what Bear does. He’s worked his tail off since he’s been here. He’s been, you know, a pleasure to coach. He’s going to have some up-and-down moments, like every player in our program will when they get here. But, so far, I’m really pleased with what I’ve seen from Bear. I’m excited to see what he’s able to do out there on the field for us this year.”

Expectations are high for Oregon in 2025. The Ducks want to repeat as Big Ten Champions but make a deeper College Football Playoff run than they were able to last year. Lanning will, of course, be looking to Alexander to be a key piece of his defense in that potential run.