We continue our search for this year’s CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy winner. CBS News Miami heads to American Heritage School in Plantation to see QB 1 Dia Bell.
He’s the son of NBA veteran and former Florida International University Panthers basketball player Raja Bell, but Dia Bell is carving out a name of his own, and it’s not on the basketball court.
Humbled by being talked about in the national conversation
At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, Dia Bell looks the part. And, the numbers back it up. Last season, Bell threw for over 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns, completing more than 70% of his passes, despite his junior year being cut short due to a leg injury.
“It didn’t really hit me until last year that I could be like in that top quarterback and top player in the country sort of conversation,” he said. “You know, people had always told me I’d have the opportunity, but I never knew how close I would get.”
Basketball was always an option, but football was his calling
Bell is ESPN’s second-ranked quarterback in his class and a five-star recruit with offers from coast to coast, but he’s not interested in following anyone else’s blueprint, including his dad’s — former NBA guard Raja Bell. And while basketball was always an option, football gave him something basketball never could: his own path.
“Always, somebody was telling me that everything I was doing was given to me just because I was playing the sport that [my dad] played at the highest level,” Bell said. “And I felt like I could use football as my own kind of mechanism — make a name for myself.”
That mindset showed up when it mattered most — against a national powerhouse and South Florida rival, St. Thomas Aquinas, where Bell threw for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
“It’s only more to build off of,” he said. “You know, I’m not where I want to be at all and there’s a lot more to shoot for.”
Aspiring to be the best while teaching others how to be the best
Bell committed to Texas, joining a quarterback room known for competition and NFL development. And, something he surrounds himself with when he’s not playing is teaching the future QBs in South Florida.
“The better you could teach it, that means you’re mastering it better. So, if I could teach it good, that means I’m probably good at what I’m doing,” Bell said. “So, I like to go back and give back.”
Nominate South Florida’s best
You can nominate your favorite high school football player at natmooretrophy.com. The CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy is sponsored by FPL – working for you every single day. Learn more at fpl.com/storm.
