After leading Southern California in total tackles, Cerritos College sophomore linebacker Alex Bush (La Habra HS) has signed a National Letter of Intent with TCU. Known for his speed an intensity, Bush is expected to immediately compete for a starting position with the Horned Frogs, who are currently preparing to take on the University of Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN on December 30.

"Coming back from a Division I program (University of Wyoming), where I had a full ride was tough," said Bush. "Whenever you start something new, you always feel like you need to prove yourself and I set high standards for myself. But the football program here at Cerritos was a huge decision why I came here and working with the coaching and the staff have helped put me in the position to move on to a state-of-the-art program like TCU."

As a freshman, Bush helped the Falcons win the Northern Division championship and finished sixth on the team with 61 tackles. Knowing he would be the focal point of the defense his sophomore season, Bush posted 106 stops (40 solo), with the biggest coming on the last play of the game against College of the Canyons. His solo tackle at the Falcon two-yard line kept the Cougars from scoring the game-winning touchdown.

For his efforts during the season, Bush was named All-State, as well as the division's Defensive Player of the Year. It marks the third year in a row a Falcon has received that award, joining Ray Price (2015) and Alex Jones (2014).

The signing by Bush now gives Cerritos four players on Big-12 rosters, joining Price and D.J. Reed at Kansas State University and Thadd Daniels at Iowa State University. Bush chose TCU over such schools as Marshall University, Bowling Green University and USC.

"Alex has the right mentality to be a linebacker," said Falcon defensive coordinator Tom Caines. "I tell him he's an old-school type of player who would have fit in perfectly in the 70's. He has the intensity and tenacity you just don't see in many guys anymore. His selling point with TCU was his toughness. Their head coach (Gary Patterson) was a defensive coordinator and is a defensive guy. He flew out here to visit with Alex and when they were talking in the office, I thought they were about to start run-blocking each other."

"They run a 4-2-5 defense out there, which gives me a lot of room to move around and allows me to use my speed and be physical," said Bush. "That plays perfectly into the type of player I am because I like to run around and hit guys. There's going to be a lot of competition to play and I'm ready to work hard in both the classroom and on the field."