Brandon Bell (American football)
{{Short description|American football player (born 1995)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Brandon Bell
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team =
| number = 52, 51, 41
| position = Linebacker
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|1|9}}
| birth_place = Mays Landing, New Jersey, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lbs = 229
| high_school = Hamilton Township (NJ) Oakcrest
| college = Penn State
| undraftedyear = 2017
| pastteams =
- Cincinnati Bengals ({{NFL Year|2017}}–{{NFL Year|2018}})
- Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2019}})*
- Seattle Dragons ({{XFL Year|2020}})
| status =
| highlights =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 14
}}
Brandon JaMarr Bell (born January 9, 1995) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State.{{cite web|title=Brandon Bell - 247Sports|access-date=October 23, 2016|url=https://247sports.com/Player/Brandon-Bell-15676|publisher=247Sports.com}}
Early life
Bell attended Oakcrest High School in New Jersey. He played running back and linebacker for the football team.
{{College Athlete Recruit Start|40=yes|collapse=no|year=2014}}
{{College Athlete Recruit Entry
| recruit = Brandon Bell
| position = LB
| hometown = Mays Landing NJ
| highschool = Oakcrest High School
| feet = 6
| inches = 1
| weight = 227
| 40 = 4.53
| commitdate = June 13, 2012
| scout stars = 2
| rivals stars = 3
| 247 stars = 3
| espn grade = 77
}}
{{College Athlete Recruit End
| 40 = yes
| year = 2012
}}
College career
=Freshman year=
During his first year at Penn State he played in seven games with twenty-three total tackles, fourteen solo tackles. In his first game as a Nittany Lion he recorded two tackles one of them a solo tackle in a 45–7 win over Eastern Michigan. His best game statistically was vs Wisconsin on November 11 he recorded six tackles four of them solo in a win during the season finale.{{cite news |title = PSU's Brandon Bell Freshman highlights |work = ESPN.com |date = November 29, 2013 |url = http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/552315/year/2013/brandon-bell |access-date = October 23, 2016 }}
=Sophomore year=
During the 2014 season Bell began getting a substantial increase of playing time. He started ten games for Penn State. Bell recorded his first college interception in a game against Rutgers and the next week vs UMass he had his first sack in a 48–7 win. Bell's best game of his career and the year was a thirteen tackle effort and also a sack in a 31-24 Double Over-Time loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Bell finished the year with a total of 43 tackles, two sacks and one interception in ten games.
=Junior year=
Bell set career highs with sacks and tackling during the 2015 campaign. Totaling 56 tackles and three and a half sacks Bell was one of Penn State's best defenders. In the first game of the year Bell had one sack and seven tacks vs the Temple Owls. His best game of the year was a nine tackle performance in the Big Ten opener vs Rutgers. In his last game during his junior year, in the Taxslayer Bowl against Georgia he had eleven tackles in a compact fallen short when Penn State lost 24-17 after scoring fourteen unanswered points to pull within a touchdown.{{cite web |title = Brandon Bell - Collegian - PSU |date = August 29, 2016 |access-date = October 23, 2016 |url = http://www.collegian.psu.edu/football/article_f0e018c6-6e58-11e6-8f88-03ca36191b1c.html |publisher = COLLEGIAN }}
=Senior year=
Bell's first appearance as a senior was in the season opener vs Kent State he recorded a tackle and an interception in a 33–13 win. The next week, he had nine tackles in a rivalry game vs Pitt in a 42–39 loss. During the final seconds of the game on a tackle on Pitt’s James Connor, Bell suffered a knee injury sidelining him for the next three weeks. Bell's best performance was a 19 tackle, one sack game vs the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions upset No. 2 Ohio State on a blocked FG attempt and ran it back 64 yards for the touchdown. The win put PSU in the AP Poll for the first time since 2011. There ranking in their Top 25 was No. 24.
On November 26, Bell recorded a tying-season high 18 tackles with 2 tackles for loss in a 45–12 Big Ten East clinching win over Michigan State. And on December 3, 2016 Big Ten Championship 13 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.
=Career statistics=
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| ! colspan="14" style="background:gray; border:2px solid silver; color:white;"|{{center|NCAA career statistics}} | ||||||||||||
| ! colspan="14" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Penn State Nittany Lions|color=white}};" |{{center|Penn State Nittany Lions}} | ||||||||||||
| rowspan=2|Season
! colspan=7|Tackles ! colspan=6|Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Tot | Solo | Asst | Sck | FF | Int | YDS | Avg | Lng | TD | PD |
| 2013
| 7 | 0 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014
| 10 | 10 | 43 | 21 | 22 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015
| 11 | 11 | 56 | 29 | 27 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016
| 9 | 9 | 88 | 42 | 46 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Total
! 37 || 30 || 203 || 106 || 105 || 9.5 || 4 || 3 || 27 || 17 || 25 || 0 || 6 |
Professional career
=Cincinnati Bengals=
Bell signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017.{{cite web|title=Undrafted Free Agents 2017: Bengals announce college free agent signings, tryouts|url=http://www.cincyjungle.com/2017/5/5/15557430/undrafted-free-agents-2017-bengals-college-free-agent-signings-tryouts|author=Marcum, Jason|website=CincyJungle.com|date=May 5, 2017}} He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.{{cite web|title=NFL roster cuts 2017: Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster|url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2017/9/2/16245134/nfl-roster-cuts-2017-cincinnati-bengals-53-man-roster|author=Toback, Rebecca|website=CincyJungle.com|date=September 2, 2017}}{{cite web|title=Elliott, DeShawn Williams return on practice squad|url=http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Elliott-DeShawn-Williams-return-on-practice-squad/b1860d51-dc9b-4b71-ad8b-d3225052bfc3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013173439/http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Elliott-DeShawn-Williams-return-on-practice-squad/b1860d51-dc9b-4b71-ad8b-d3225052bfc3|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 13, 2017|author=Hobson, Geoff|website=Bengals.com|date=September 3, 2017}} He was promoted to the active roster on December 15, 2017.{{cite web|title=Bengals place Kevin Minter on injured reserve; sign Brandon Bell off practice squad|url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2017/12/15/16781586/bengals-place-kevin-minter-injured-reserve-sign-brandon-bell-practice-squad|author=Marcum, Jason|website=CincyJungle.com|date=December 15, 2017}}
On September 1, 2018, Bell was waived by the Bengals.{{cite web|title=Bengals Establish Roster of 53 Players|url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-establish-roster-of-53-players|website=Bengals.com|date=September 1, 2018}} He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 23, 2018.{{cite web|title=Bengals make 3 roster moves including placing TE Mason Schreck on IR|url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2018/10/23/18015616/bengals-make-3-roster-moves-including-placing-te-mason-schreck-on-ir-jordan-franks-brandon-bell|website=CincyJungle.com|date=October 23, 2018}} He was promoted to the active roster on November 16, 2018.{{cite web|title=Bengals TE Tyler Kroft's season is over; LB Brandon Bell promoted from practice squad|url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2018/11/16/18098924/bengals-te-tyler-krofts-season-is-over-lb-brandon-bell-promoted-from-practice-squad|website=CincyJungle.com|date=November 16, 2018}} He was waived on May 11, 2019.{{cite web|title=Bengals Sign Three College Free Agents, Waive Two Players|url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-sign-three-college-free-agents-waive-two-players|website=Bengals.com|date=May 11, 2019|access-date=May 12, 2019|archive-date=May 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513201228/https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-sign-three-college-free-agents-waive-two-players|url-status=dead}}
=Carolina Panthers=
On August 19, 2019, Bell was signed by the Carolina Panthers.{{cite web|title=Panthers makes roster moves ahead of third preseason game|url=https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-makes-roster-moves-tyler-catalina-brandon-bell|website=Panthers.com|date=August 19, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2019|archive-date=August 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819140945/https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-makes-roster-moves-tyler-catalina-brandon-bell|url-status=dead}} He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.{{cite news |author=Henson, Max |title=Panthers announce first wave of 2019 roster cuts |url=https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-announce-first-wave-of-2019-roster-cuts-artis-payne-corn-elder |website=Panthers.com |date=August 30, 2019 |access-date=August 30, 2019}}
=Seattle Dragons=
Bell was signed by the Seattle Dragons of the XFL on January 6, 2020.{{cite web |title=XFL Transactions |url=https://www.xfl.com/xfl-transactions |website=XFL.com |access-date=January 9, 2020}} He was placed on injured reserve during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.{{cite web |title=XFL Injured Reserve |url=https://www.xfl.com/en-US/xfl-injured-reserve |website=XFL.com |access-date=February 6, 2020}} He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.{{cite news |author=Condotta, Bob |title=XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/xfl-suspends-operations-terminates-all-employees/ |website=SeattleTimes.com |date=April 10, 2020 |access-date=July 17, 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/brandon_bell_857060.html Penn State Nittany Lions bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Brandon}}
Category:American football linebackers
Category:Carolina Panthers players
Category:Cincinnati Bengals players
Category:Oakcrest High School alumni
Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Category:People from Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey
Category:Players of American football from Atlantic County, New Jersey