Brandon Bell (American football)

Brandon JaMarr Bell (born January 9, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State.^[1]

Early years

Bell attended Oakcrest High School in New Jersey where he played running back and linebacker.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Brandon Bell LB	Mays Landing NJ	Oakcrest High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	227 lb (103 kg)	4.53	Jun 13, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings:
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

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.^[2]

Sophomore year

During the 2014 season Bell began getting a substantial increase of playing time. He starting 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 an 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.^{[2] [3]}

Junior year

Bell set career highs with sacks and tacking during the 2015 campaign. Totaling 56 tackles and three and a half sacks Bell was on 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.^[4]

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 Pitts 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 one December 3, 2016 Big Ten Championship 13 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.

Career statistics

Reference^[5]

Professional career

Bell signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017.^[6]

References

External links

• Penn State Nittany Lions bio