When Bear Alexander played at USC in 2023, he put up a little-noticed but eye-popping stat that got widely overlooked.
Nick and Andrew from "Saturday Morning Inspection" unearthed the fact that Alexander tallied a better pressure rate than two first-round NFL draft picks.
"The only season he got meaningful playing time was better than first round pick Tyleik Williams and better than first round pick Kenneth Grant. That is absolutely outstanding," Nick said.
Alexander posted a career-high 47 tackles and seven tackles for loss two seasons ago for the Trojans, but oddly, his playing time went down to almost nothing in September 2024, so he decided to redshirt and transfer.
A four-star recruit out of Terrell, Texas, in his stops at Georgia and SC he's been dogged by questions about his work ethic and commitment. Not so at Oregon, where Matayo Uiagalelei told Bri Amaranthus of si.com, "Man, (Bear Alexander) works. He'll be there in the workout, and then he’ll come back an hour later -he's doing a whole other workout."
The hosts compared Alexander's potential to Derrick Harmon, drafted No. 21 in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their pre-Oregon pass rush efficiency numbers are strikingly similar.
"There's a really good chance that Barry Alexander based on what Oregon did with Derrick Harmon provides the same kind of benefit and Alexander's pressure per pass rush percentage which basically means how many times he's getting to the quarterback is going to be a massive weapon."
"It's going to spike dramatically very similar to how Harmon did."
The signs are excellent so far, as Alexander is at peace and in the best shape of his life at 6-3, 302. . In Spring Tosh Lupoi said, "To this point right now, Bear has been, I'd say, one of the hardest workers in the entire defense, from an extra work and mental standpoint. So I really appreciate that."
The inside pressure Harmon and Jamaree Caldwell created last year kept quarterbacks at home and gave the outside rush time to work to the sack. Matayo Uiagalelei, Jordan Burch and Teitum Tuioti combined for 24 sacks. Pressure and penetration inside feeds the edge rushers while disrupting the run.
Alexander has always had enormous potential. If he takes that next step, this defensive line could be stifling.