Bear Alexander has 'best week of practice' pay off in-game against Kent State
Kirby Smart has been waiting for a breakout game from freshman defensive lineman Bear Alexander. The seventh-year head coach said that with all the Georgia was having to replace on the defensive line, both Alexander and fellow first-year player Christen Miller would have to play early in their collegiate careers. As he stated, ‘They’re not Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt, and we’re not asking them to be… They’re gonna get thrust up there and have to go out and compete and give us depth and give us snaps because we play a lot of guys up front, so I’m excited to see what all those guys can do on the defensive line.’
Smart’s comments came early in fall camp, and he’s been asked about those two since then too. After Georgia’s game against Oregon, Smart said that Alexander ‘flashes, but then he has a play where he doesn’t give effort.’ He also said that there was a certain number of reps that all freshmen need to get before they can contribute. That number is different for every freshman based on where they come in, but Alexander was no different in needing that time to develop.
Well, on Saturday against Kent State, we got to see what Alexander is capable of. Jalen Carter didn’t get in the game on defense as he nurses an ankle injury that’s caused him some discomfort recently, thus opening the door for the 6-foot-3, 305-pound Alexander to get on the field.
“I’d have to see it (the film),” Smart said when asked to assess Alexander’s performance post-game. “I know he had the batted ball, but there were times I didn’t know if he was in there. He did have more snaps today. He had his best week of practice, so we felt like he would play more snaps. If they drove the ball and we thought they would play more tempo that we’d have to play more people. Tray (Scott) did a good job rotating those guys through and Bill Norton did a good job and played a few more snaps. That’s good. We’re increasing our depth.”
Alexander’s teammates, especially those in the defensive line room, have thought that he could make an impact for quite some time. After playing alongside Alexander as he had one tackle and a pass breakup while playing several important snaps for the Bulldogs, Nazir Stackhouse praised Alexander’s performance.
“He has a lot of potential, and he’s going to be a great player,” Stackhouse said. “One thing about Bear, all I can say about him is to focus on development. Obviously when you’re a freshman there’s nothing but development in front of you. So I’d tell him to just learn from the older guys, trust in the process, listen to the coaches.”
“He went out there and did great,” Stackhouse continued. “This is going to help, this is only going to mean more snaps for him. I was telling him on the sideline, just go out there, perform, don’t worry about the last play. Just keep going and going on to the next play. Don’t worry about if things get bad. If things get high, don’t get too high and don’t get too low. You want to just go out there and perform.”
Alexander made the trip to South Carolina with Georgia last weekend, maybe to the surprise of some. This week when the Bulldogs go to Missouri on Saturday, don’t be surprised one bit to see him not only on the sideline but also in the game.
Georgia and Missouri kickoff from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The game against the Tigers kicks off a stretch of seven straight SEC games for the Bulldogs between now and the final week of the regular season when they’ll take on Georgia Tech.
