JACKSON, Miss. -- Big Bear Alexander announced his recommitment decision to Georgia on Thursday.

The Texas native was down to a final two of Georgia and Texas A&M. He had been expecting to make his public decision known on January 7, 2022, at the Under Armour All-American Game.

In the end, he just could not wait.

The same school he committed to on National Signing Day for the 2021 class was just what he still saw as “home.”

“Big Bear” still wanted to wear that No. 99 jersey that Jordan Davis had told him was for him to claim for the 2022 season.

Texas A&M loomed large here. When the NCAA reopened the recruiting process for on-campus visits in June, he took back-to-back trips to see the Bulldogs and the Aggies.

When he got through with his first June visit to College Station, he made the decision to back off what was seen as a solid pledge to the Bulldogs.

He knew in his heart that he always wanted to be a ‘Dawg.

When he said this summer that he had “red and black” in his veins, that was just not the typical back-and-forth of an impressionable high school kid.

The nation’s No. 6 DL and the No. 39 overall prospect is now the third highest-rated recruit for the 2022 class in Athens.

That comes on the heels of a major 5-star flip on Wednesday with Mykel Williams making his decision to stay home and play for Georgia.

This should be seen as a very firm commitment to the Bulldogs. Alexander has been strongly leaning back to UGA ever since he made the move to Florida to play for national boarding school powerhouse IMG Academy to finish out his senior season.

IMG Academy is set to face East St. Louis on Friday in Mississippi at Jackson State University. DawgNation will be in attendance to cover that game.

Alexander’s decision and that tug back home had been sparked by several continued positive interactions. He took an impactful late July visit to UGA right before the dead period resumed again.

He was in Charlotte for the big win against Clemson. He said just how much DawgNation still embraced him and wanted him to be a part of the program. He even returned for a gameday visit earlier this month against Arkansas.

That was pretty much all it took. He was in the stands for the big win for Texas A&M against Alabama at Kyle Field. He saw Aggie football at its zenith with 105,000 screaming fans reveling in the glow of knocking off a true college football titan and the defending national champions.

It was all good. It was very real, but in the end, he just liked what he had always felt and seen from Georgia more. That’s why he made the move to come back home today.

SENTELL’S INTEL

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