Dia Bell
| American Heritage Patriots – No. 3 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career history | |
| High school | Plantation American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) |
Dia Bell is an American football quarterback at Plantation American Heritage School.
Early life
[edit]Bell is the son of National Basketball Association (NBA) player Raja Bell.[1] He grew up playing football and attended the Plantation American Heritage School in Florida, where he made the varsity team at quarterback in seventh grade.[2] He was a backup for American Heritage until his sophomore year of high school, when he won the starting role.[3] He completed 122 of 189 pass attempts for 1,929 yards and 20 touchdowns with only four interceptions in his first year as a starter, leading his team to an appearance in the class 2M state championship game.[3][4]
After his sophomore season, Bell was ranked a top recruit for the class of 2026, with 247Sports ranking him the second-best quarterback nationally and a five-star recruit.[5] He was also ranked the ninth-best player in the nation by ESPN.[6] As a junior in 2024, he threw for 2,597 yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions while completing 71% of his passes, also running for 561 yards and five touchdowns while being named the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year.[7]
Bell is committed in June 2024 to play college football for the Texas Longhorns.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ Salerno, Cameron (June 17, 2024). "Texas football recruiting: Four-star QB Dia Bell, son of former NBA star Raja Bell, commits to Longhorns". CBS Sports.
- ^ Navarro, Manny (October 4, 2023). "Why Raja Bell's son is chasing football — not basketball — dreams, becoming a top QB recruit". The Athletic – via archive.today.
- ^ a b Fernandez, Andre (August 13, 2024). "'He's been groomed for this': American Heritage's Bell primed for a breakthrough year". Miami Herald – via archive.today.
- ^ Young, Matt (June 18, 2024). "Meet Dia Bell, the Texas Longhorns' newest elite quarterback recruit". Houston Chronicle – via archive.today.
- ^ Navarro, Manny (June 17, 2024). "Texas lands commitment from Class of 2026 5-star QB Dia Bell". The Athletic.
- ^ Dimmitt, Zach (August 31, 2024). "Texas 5-Star QB Commit Dia Bell Lands Six-Figure NIL Deal". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Gatlin, Jamie (December 10, 2024). "Longhorns recruit Dia Bell named Florida Gatorade Player of the Year". USA Today – via Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Lederman, Eli (June 17, 2024). "QB Dia Bell, No. 9 in 2026 ESPN 300, commits to Texas". ESPN.
- ^ Yum, Caleb (June 17, 2024). "Texas football lands commitment from Dia Bell, 2026 five-star QB and son of Raja Bell". Austin American-Statesman.