Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This entry is about the latest with All-American DT prospect Big Bear Alexander after he made his final decision to commit to UGA this week.
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JACKSON, Miss. -- Big Bear Alexander spoke candidly with DawgNation on Friday about the big decision he made the day prior.
The elite Class of 2022 DT prospect provided a spark for the UGA class on Thursday. The 6-foot-3.5, 325-pound senior was the second prospect in as many days that held a 5-star rating to choose Georgia.
Rivals.com rates him as the nation’s No. 3 DT and the No. 10 overall prospect in this cycle. Alexander will also rank as the No. 6 DL and the No. 39 overall recruit for 2022 on the 247Sports Composite.
His pledge is part of a strong surge of recruiting momentum of late which has now pushed the Bulldogs past Alabama for the nation’s top-rated class on the 247Sports Composite ratings. Georgia has picked up the commitment of three All-American prospects rated among the nation’s top 100 recruits over the last 10 days.
The Texas native restored the pledge that he made to Georgia back on the National Signing Day for the 2021 cycle back in February.
He said the Georgia fan base had a great influence on his decision to come back home. That was even after he saw Texas A&M at the highest spot imaginable for that program. “Big Bear” was at Kyle Field among the 105,000 that saw the Aggies take down Alabama and coach Nick Saban.
“It is over for me,” Alexander said. “Pretty much over. A&M had a pretty good game. They beat Saban, but the deciding factor for me was still Georgia.”
Why was that?
“It is the G,” Alexander said. “It is just different. They are always going to play for the SEC championship. They are having a heck of a year. Those guys are young, too. You’ve got Kelee [Ringo] and [Jalen] Carter that are going to be coming back. You’ve got a few of my IMG teammates here that are committed. I was previously committed there and it all just made sense overall to come back. It is different for me with Georgia.”
“My family wanted to try that something new at Georgia and get away from home.”
That wasn’t enough to pull him away from Georgia. He’s set to play his first game as a Georgia Bulldog commitment tonight in Mississippi. His IMG Academy team will take on an East St. Louis Flyers team led by 5-star Missouri WR commit Luther Burden III.
Burden was the big 5-star the Bulldogs did not get this week.
The new UGA pledge is playing for the defending national mythical high school championship team now. Alexander was part of a state title team at Ryan in Texas as a junior. He moved to a new school at Brewer High in Fort Worth for his senior year.
That’s because his father, Tony Jones, took a job at teaching and coaching with that program. Their family made that move, but the governing body of high school sports in Texas did not declare him eligible to play for the Brewer Bears.
Alexander did say the fact he wasn’t declared eligible to play his senior season in Texas also played a part in his decision.
“That was a part of the reason why I chose Georgia, too,” Alexander said. “I felt like I wasn’t getting love from my home state. For ya’ll to deny me to play high school football there’s no telling what the state would do to me on the collegiate level. Let me go somewhere else where I feel more appreciated.”
What happens if the Aggies try to get back into his recruiting process?
“There’s no getting back into this thing,” he said. “Of course, I have to keep those relationships professional because a lot of those coaches might wind up being a defensive coordinator or a coordinator somewhere maybe in the NFL. You never know where a coach like Jimbo may land. But it is pretty much over from this point. I’m not going to their university. I’m going to the University of Georgia. That’s why I mean it is shut down.”
“There will be no more talk about Bear coming there. If we talk, then let’s talk about how I might fit into their scheme if they are coaching for the Carolina Panthers one day or something like that.”
The Under Armour All-American had a clear message for the fans on Friday.
“Just to get ready,” he said. “Get ready. That opening game in Atlanta. I don’t know what the stadium is called yet. I just know it is in Atlanta. It is coming out for us against Oregon. Kirby [Smart] said he may even bring out some new jerseys in that game. Because of course Oregon they always have some fire uniforms.”
“Just be ready to see us lay that hat against Oregon.”
Big Bear Alexander: Check out the exclusive DawgNation video interview
Alexander still plans to wear the No. 99 jersey after Jordan Davis in the teeth of the Georgia defense.
“I’m back,” he said. “Back like I never left. The fans have been so great in supporting me even when I had decommitted and came to those games. That game against Clemson and that game against Arkansas.”
When it came down to his final decision, Alexander said the Georgia fans had a great deal to do with it. What was his message to DawgNation on Friday?
He touched on a great many in the exclusive interview, including:
- What does he want folks to know about his decommitment and the new decision to commit to Georgia?
- Does he still have that red and black flowing through his veins? Did it ever go away?
- The savvy way Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott handled his decommitment like a splintered relationship he wanted to restore
- Why he can see himself coaching at UGA one day after he’s done playing
Check out the YouTube interview with Alexander below.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- BREAKING: Elite DT prospect Big Bear Alexander commits to Georgia
- BREAKING: In-state DL Mykel Williams pulls off a 5-star flip from USC to UGA
- 5-star WR Luther Burden explains why he chose Missouri over Georgia
- BREAKING: 3-star OL Aliou Bah commits to Georgia
- Check out the mammoth list of recruits in town for Kentucky
- Oscar Delp: The meeting of all meetings that helped seal his commitment
- BREAKING: Oscar Delp, the nation’s No. 3 TE, commits to UGA
- Ladd McConkey: Where would he be now if not for that very late UGA offer?
- Adam Anderson: He’s bigger, older and wiser, but he still plays for his Angel
- Georgia QB commit Gunner Stockton smashes a state record held by Deshaun Watson
- 5-star do-it-all defender Shemar Stewart recaps another “great” trip to UGA
- Luther Burden III: A 5-star’s burden that goes beyond choosing to commit to Georgia or Mizzou
- Mykell Williams: What the 5-star DL thought on his front-row VIP treatment at UGA
- Big Bear Alexander: Why the 5-star DT “couldn’t have been more fired up” to be in Athens
- Nation’s No. 1 overall prospect Travis Hunter is a surprise visitor at Arkansas
- Cooper Manning weighs in on Georgia’s recruitment of his 5-star son Arch Manning
- Elite 2023 cornerback prospect Kayin Lee has made his college decision
- Christen Miller: Georgia has really moved the needle of late with the All-American DT
- Luther Burden: The nation’s No. 2 WR on two upcoming visits and a rescheduled commitment day
