When James Franklin targeted two-time transfer and former five-star high school recruit Bear Alexander in the transfer portal this offseason, it appeared his program was taking a new approach to high-end talent acquisition and making good on his claims of “aggressiveness” in the portal. It appears, however, that the Nittany Lions were not aggressive enough in their pursuit of the 6-foot-3 315-pound USC defensive tackle.
On Friday night, as Penn State was preparing to host SMU in the first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff at Beaver Stadium, Alexander announced his commitment to Oregon. Dan Lanning’s team made a profound statement in the Big Ten this year, winning the conference and taking down perennial powerhouses Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State in the process. Now, Lanning, whose No. 1 seeded Ducks have a bye through the first round of the CFP, continues to make his presence felt on the recruiting trail.
In fact, both sides of the first-round contest at Beaver Stadium had to be disappointed by the news. Early in his portal recruitment, Alexander named Penn State and SMU alongside Oregon as his three programs that were standing out. The big-name defensive lineman even visited Happy Valley and provided a perfect symbol of the transfer portal era, taking a photo in a Penn State uniform while flexing his Georgia tattoo.
Penn State has been interested in multiple interior defensive linemen in anticipation of the graduation of Dvon J-Thomas and Coziah Izzard, who are key contributors alongside junior Zane Durant. If the Nittany Lions aren’t able to land a big body on the defensive side of the football soon, they could be forced to rely heavily on young players in 2025.