Football Profile: Dorian Bell: For whom the Bell tolls: five-star recruit to join linebacker corps
Margaret Stahl
Issue date: 2/16/09
If there's one thing Pennsylvania is notorious for besides the Steelers, it's their all-star recruits that Ohio State keeps sweeping up.
Dorian Bell, a 220-pound outside linebacker from Monroeville, Pa., is one of three players from the keystone state that will be making an impact on Buckeye football in coming years.
Ranked 33 overall and third in his position by rivals.com, Bell will add to the depth of the linebacker roster. He averaged almost nine tackles per game as a senior and led the Monroeville Gateway High School team to a 12-1 record. In addition, he's already played in two National All-Star games: the U.S. Army All-American Game and the Hawaii-U.S. Mainland All-Star Game.
Kevin Noon, a recruit analyst from rivals.com, said that with the stats and athleticism Bell brings to the table, he could have gone pretty much anywhere.
Schools such as Penn State, Boston College and Tennessee were interested in Bell, and recruiting competition for the all-star was nothing less than fierce. But Ohio State's strategy is to find and sign recruits early on, which may be why he was already committed weeks before national signing day.
"They've done a really good job at covering spots that needed covered, and they have guys across a lot of positions," Bucknuts.com Managing editor Steve Helwagen said. "There are a lot of schools they keep going back to."
I think with his pass defending skills (reported) and his prodigious physical skills, we may well have him on the field early and not just as a special teams missile.
