RECRUITING: Anxious to Sign

Rayville (La.) wide receiver Kenny Bell ready to sign on the dotted line

by Daniel Mingea III
Tiger Rag Recruiting Analyst

CLICK HERE to read Mingea’s recruiting blog at NOLA.com.

As in any recruiting class the front-line, nationally recognized prospects steal much of the hype from the other members and understandably so.

For LSU, players such as Russell Shepard, Janzen Jackson, and Chris Davenport fill the role of the attention-getters while guys like Kenny Bell (6-1, 170, 4.5) modestly play their role.

Receiving attention is something Bell intentionally tried to avoid as he decided to commit to LSU in early August in hopes of being able to continue to be just a “typical” high school student-athlete and not some superstar that is recognized by everyone in town.

Bell claimed it seemed to be like a good plan. Only if it had worked out that way.

“I’m ready to get it over with,” Bell responded when asked if he was excited about National Signing Day. “I thought if I committed early I wouldn’t have to worry about recruiting anymore. I wanted to get it out of the way so I could focus on school and my season, but even after I committed people were still on me about college.

“Now I’m just relieved that it is almost over,” Bell added. “I won’t have people asking me if I’m still going to LSU anymore.”

That is correct because people will know come Feb. 4. It will also be the day Bell will officially realize for himself that dreams can come true by putting in hard work and never giving up.

“I’ve been dreaming about playing in college since I was playing pee-wee football,” Bell admitted. “It has been a long time coming. Now I’m going to try to do well in college and hopefully it will get me to my next dream of playing in the NFL for a few years. And even if I don’t make it to the NFL I’m excited just to get the chance to be able to play in the SEC.

“The one thing I’ll take with me from high school to college is to compete in everything you do, from homework to football,” Bell continued. “Compete in everything both on and off the field.”

The four-star receiver got a taste of some of his future teammates as they participated in the Sportsman’s Paradise Bowl together in Lafayette a couple of weeks ago.

“I talked to Michael Ford and Chris Davenport and I made friends with a bunch of the other guys that were out there,” Bell claimed. “We didn’t talk about college though. We talked about other stuff. We were just trying to get know each other a little better.”

Before Bell meets up with those guys again, he will look to finish out his athletic high school career on the hardwood and on the track.

“I’m playing basketball right now and getting ready for track to start,” Bell concluded. “We have a district game tonight at Madison.

“I’m a better receiver than I am a guard,” Bell joked. “I’m kind of just playing basketball to stay in shape.”

Note: There were reports Bell would be on hand in Baton Rouge this weekend for a visit, but he said he will not be making the trip.