“I am humbly grateful for this honor and acknowledgment to be selected for the NFL HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year for the 2023 season,” Bell said. “To have it magnified and polarized at the Super Bowl is monumental.”
This award will place Bell among other highly accomplished players such as Russell Wilson, Deion Sanders, and other athletes who have been awarded.
“It’s humbling to be mentioned in the same sentence as Russell Wilson and Prime Time Deion Sanders who have stood on this platform,” Bell said.
This season Bell was a huge playmaker for the Cowboys. During the regular season, he was second on the team in tackles with 94 tackles, 60 solo tackles, and two forced fumbles. Bell wants to build upon his success from this season going into the off-season.
“I know that I must work extremely hard during this off-season to condition my body to prepare for the everyday grind as a professional football player,” Bell said. “I am extremely excited about getting with my coaches and teammates this off-season to study my craft and add more tools to my toolbelt.”
Bell has shown that there is talent hidden in HBCUs. As a role model for future players, Bell has become a representation of what it means to come from an HBCU and thrive. Bell speaks on what FAMU meant to him and how he is giving back to HBCUs.
“I do realize God has placed upon me to lead and be an example for many, and for that matter, I have accepted my calling to be intentional in the most positive way that I know as to the lives I affect from those watching me,” Bell said.
Bell, a Rattler with pride and honor, feels it is now his obligation to pay it forward by reaching back and rendering all the support he can give his HBCU “Famuly”. Bell has started the “BellCares Foundation ” to support students and even his own business “Gramma Hands LLC”.
“I was raised by my grandmother and I want to be able to continue her legacy by giving a hand,” Bell said. “I have been very successful and blessed being able to support and provide youth camps that strike out gang violence, mental health awareness, and health and wellness clinics for youths through my foundation and business.”