Osceola’s Jalen Bell had 6 interceptions this season, but no offers | Recruiting Insider
There is really only one thing a college football recruiter needs to know about Jalen Bell. The senior linebacker/safety at Osceola High had an impressive six interceptions this season and he’s ranked in the top 20 among the state leaders, according to MaxPreps.
Couple that with Bell’s size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) and I would think any college recruiter would be scrambling to hit his computer to look for Bell’s Hudl film. Apparently, no one has. He has no Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offers, and it leaves me and his coach equally baffled.
“We’ve been trying,” Osceola coach Eric Pinellas said. “We have no idea what the deal is.”
Seminole football tops final Orlando Sentinel Super 16 rankings
There are no strikes against Bell. His has good grades with a 3.3 GPA and made the school honor roll. He seems to be a young man of good character, and he can darn sure play some football. He comes advertised as a linebacker, for the most part, but this dude can play almost anywhere on defense.
Pinellas has moved him around, from linebacker to safety to corner. Against Jones this season, Bell was playing linebacker and the Kowboys kept getting beat on the boundaries by the wide receivers. Pinellas switched Bell to cornerback and the result was two interceptions in that game against Vernell Brown III, one of the top receivers in Central Florida.
Bell has some lower-level options for college, but he’s much better than that. So far he has offers from Long Island, Duquesne, St. Thomas and Keiser.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Bell said. “When you put a lot of hard work in and you don’t get a lot of the attention that you feel like you deserve, that’s just life and you’re going to be overlooked sometimes.”
Bell, the No. 10 player in the Sentinel’s 2024 Central Florida Super60, is waiting out the process, but he admits it’s difficult. He is, however, optimistic that something is going to break.
“I feel like I have a lot of big opportunities coming in real soon,” Bell said. “I’m just putting it in God’s hands to guide me through the whole process. I got until February, until the second signing day. That’s when I’m going to sign.”
By then things will likely shake out for many prospective college football players, as colleges see where they lost or gained from the transfer portal.
The issue for Bell, I suspect, is a matter of position. Coaches consider him a “tweener,” which means that they can’t decide whether he’s a linebacker or a safety or corner or maybe even an edge rusher. Today’s viewpoint from many college coaches is that a linebacker has to be 6-3, 235 pounds, and Bell doesn’t make that cut off.
There are plenty of comparisons that can be made throughout recent college football history. One of those would be former Wekiva High defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who has been a first team, All-ACC selection in four straight seasons at Clemson. The senior was between 6-0 and 6-1 in high school and several coaches did not think he could get the job done. Obviously, they were wrong.
If nothing else, Bell would be a perfect nickel back and there is no doubt in my mind that he can play in a Power 5 conference. He has incredible eyes for the ball and he flies to it. He’s has great hips and can turn and cover with ease, and he has tremendous game speed. Bell also had 60 tackles, a fumble recovery and, remarkably, he blocked four kicks and punts this season.
“I mostly played linebacker the whole year and I’m a little bit undersized,” Bell said. “But I have film at corner and safety, so I don’t see why they can’t see me as that as well. I can play nickel, D-line, corner or safety. It doesn’t really matter. I’m just very versatile.”
He’s taken on a leadership role and is proud of the season he had.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a player this year,” Bell said. “Last year was kind of my breakout season, but this year I feel like I really put my name on the map a little bit. Six interceptions is a lot, especially coming from a supposedly linebacker position. … I’ve just been all over the field.”
Oviedo’s Will Przystup earns first team All-Sun Belt
The college trials and travels of former Oviedo punter Will Przystup finally came to an end. He started at Michigan State, then Nebraska and finally to Arkansas State, where he earned a scholarship last year and, as a senior, was named first team All-Sun Belt Conference. Przystup averaged 42.9 yards per punt, had 15 punts of 50 yards or more, and 21 npunts inside the 20-yard line..
Przystup went through plenty in his college journey, and it’s probably best not to bring up Australia with him. At Michigan State, Przystup was a walk-on and didn’t get much of a shot at the starting punter job after the Spartans brought in an Australian and put him on scholarship.
Przystup bolted from Lansing, Mich., and he landed in Lincoln, Neb. But, at Nebraska, the same thing. The ‘Huskers brought in an Australian punter, but this time, Przystup won the starting job, his first season as kickoff specialist, and the final two seasons as a punter. Still, no scholarship under Scott Frost. He bolted again, and he found a home and a scholarship at Arkansas State for his final two years of eligibility. At Arkansas State, the Red Foxes kicked an Australian kicker off the team just prior to Przystup’s arrival. I guess it was meant to be.
Evan Anderson declares for NFL Draft
Former Jones High standout Evan Anderson, has decided this was his final season of college football and has decided to out his name into the NFL Draft pool. Anderson earned all-conference honors in both of the past two seasons with the Owls, in Conference-USA and the American Athletic Conference. Anderson had 149 tackles and seven sacks in four seasons with FAU and he has decided to skip his final, COVID, year.
Orlando products earn All-SWAC at FAMU
Safety Kendall Bohler and defensive lineman A.J. Dunn, a pair of Central Florida products who ar at Florida A&M, both earned All-SWAC honors when postseason awards were announced last week.
Dunn, who played at Sanford Seminole High, leads FAMU in sacks and tackles for loss this season with 8 and 12. He is third on the team in tackles with 43.
Bohler, the brother of graduated former Rattler B.J. Bohler, who was the MVP of the Florida Classic last year, is fourth on the team in tackles with 37, and he also has 14 pass deflections.
SWAC champion FAMU will be playing against MEAC champion Howard in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Dec. 16, at noon (ABC).
Mainland’s Mello Dotson earns All-Big 12
Kansas senior Mello Dotson, a product of Daytona Beach Mainland, earned All-Big 12 honorable mention for this season. Kansas will play UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 26, at 5 p.m. (ESPN). So far this season, Dotson has 44 tackles and 4 interceptions, including a 37-yard pick-6 in the Jayhawks’ upset of previously unbeaten Oklahoma.
Jayden Gibson making his mark at OU
After making just one catch in limited role as a freshman receiver at Oklahoma last season, West Orange product Jayden Gibson has had a bit of a breakout year for the Sooners. Gibson, who will be playing n the Alamo Bowl in San Antoio, Texas, Dec. 28 at 5:15 (ESPN), when Oklahoma takes on Arizona, has stepped up this season. He has 13 catchs for 372 yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging a whopping 24.8 yards per catch.
Chris Hays covers high school and college football and college football recruiting. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays or on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. Email him at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
