One day after Lincoln Riley said playing time is ‘no story,’ USC DL Bear Alexander redshirts rest of season

Defensive tackle Bear Alexander, who transferred to USC from Georgia after the 2022 season, will redshirt the remainder of the 2024 season.

Tony Jones, Alexander’s father, spoke about the decision on Wednesday.

“We made clear what our goals are. That goal is to be a full-time starter and leader on the defense like we came there to be,” Jones said, per Pete Thamel, ESPN. “If Bear not being a starter and playing 35 or 40 snaps a game isn’t in the best interest of the team, we need to do something different.”

Alexander will continue to practice with the team. The decision to redshirt will allow Alexander to keep a year of college eligibility.

Nothing about Alexander’s decision is overly unusual — at least not in the modern era of college athletics. What makes this decision stand out is that it almost completely contrasts comments made by USC coach Lincoln Riley one day earlier.

During a media session on Tuesday, Riley was specifically asked about Alexander’s playing time — or lack thereof. He largely dismissed the issue, noting that Alexander “played over one-third of the game” against Michigan.

“People want to act like the guy’s not playing snaps,” Riley said in a video shared by Luca Evans of The Orange County Register. “He’s doing a good job for us out here. He’s getting better. There’s no story there. I know you guys are looking for one. There’s no story there. The guy’s out here working hard. He’s improving. He’s in a new system. With a new coach. He’s getting better. I think he’s going to continue to get better.”

Riley added that when a unit is good, as he feels USC’s defensive line is in 2024, playing time should not be easily earned.

Asked Lincoln Riley what’s leading to a backup role/lack of snaps for USC DL Bear Alexander.

Part of reply: “There’s no story there. I know you guys are looking for one.”

More: “It should be hard to play D-line at USC … sometimes it’s not what somebody’s not doing.” pic.twitter.com/AKnIP2Py9N

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) September 25, 2024

“It should be hard to play D-line at USC,” Riley said. “Like it oughta be kind of hard. It wasn’t hard last year. That’s why we weren’t very good up there. We’re pretty decent up there. And it’s hard. And the margins are thin. Sometimes it’s not what somebody’s not doing. It’s competitive and there’s tough decisions to make every week.”

From a pure football standpoint, we can’t dispute Riley’s claims. It should be hard to get a lot of playing time at a school like USC and if it’s not, things probably aren’t going well. He’s not wrong there. But in regards to there being “no story” with Alexander. It might have been hard to believe on Tuesday. Now, it’s even harder.

[ESPN.com, Luca Evans on X]