Don't Mess With Texas
Jerry Bell hopes to compete for the starting spot right away (CREDIT: Caller-Times.com)
Jerry Bell, an impressive QB prospect from the Corpus Christi area, has committed to Columbia.
Bell is 6"1 and 201 pounds, and is hoping to improve his mobility by working out with his high school track and field team this spring. He was recruited by Purdue, Rice, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, and Princeton.
Before today, I had no inkling Columbia was in the running!
posted by Jake @ 9:25:00 PM
25 comments
25 Comments:
Exciting news! Jerry Bell is an outstanding quarterback who complied terrific stats playing week after week against some of the best high school teams in the country.
He had 500 yards passing in a playoff loss...that's a lot of passing yards.
Here's a nice compliment that makes him sound like a fine addition to the team. Looking forward to seeing Mr. Bell on Morningside Heights--Leonidas
CORPUS CHRISTI-They both put the helmets up a month ago but two Coastal Bend football stars get to take one more bow. Ray quarterback Jerry Bell and Calallen defensive back Jeramie Marek have been named All-Texas by Dave Campbell's Football magazine.
It's just the second year the magazine has issued its list, which ranks players regardless of classification. 5A, 4A... it doesn't matter.
Bell has been named second team quarterback. The senior passed for 4,021 yards this season and 40 touchdowns. He's currently being recruited by several Ivy League schools.
From all the stats, articles and comments, Jerry Bell may be our best QB recruit since Archie Roberts. As one Texas fan reacted to the news about Bell going to Columbia, "Turn that team around!"
Archie Roberts was an outstanding quarterback at Columbia in the sixties, but let's not ignore Marty Domres and John Witkowski. They were both outstanding quarterbacks at Columbia and played in the NFL for the Lions and the Colts, respectively in the seventies and eighties.. Matt Cavanaugh was also a standout quarterback at Columbia in the nineties, although Matt didn't exactly pass for forty TD's. Nevertheless, I agree with you that Columbia Football Fans have every right to be excited about this outstanding young man, who seems to be a perfect fit for Columbia, and a tremendous football prospect.
If I were a Columbia wide receiver, I would be very excited about today's news. Austin Knowlin, Nico Gutierrez, Taylor Joseph, Josh Williams, et al. must be a pretty happy group today.
Norries isn't starting a freshman qb so let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's worry about 2008 season and who realistically will play QB and getting some productivity at the tailback position which is much more important to the succes of this team.
But a great recruit no doubt and I wish him all the success in the world at CU.
I agree that Domres and Witkowski were outstanding, and Cavanaugh was one of our best running QBs ever (I saw him almost single-handedly end Penn's nation-leading winning streak in 1995), but none of them came in with Bell's reputation, who has been voted the second best QB in all of Texas, and we all know about Texas high school football.
We now have recruited an outstanding passing QB in Bell and an excellent running QB in Ryan Haslett. Plus we have some pretty good QBs already on board who may keep those two in training for a while. I'd say we're looking stacked at QB for years ahead! And the supporting cast is getting better and better (two Ivy rookies-of-the-year in a row). Congrats to Wilson and his staff for a job well done!
Why not start a Freshman? If he has the skill he should start. I have a hard time believing this kid isn't skilled enough to play right away, so I wouldn't rule it out. Some of the best players on the team last year were freshmen, we just need people who want to compete, regardless of class.
And, perhaps Christian Daniel,Canyon High School, CA, may add to his receiver corps.
There's also an upcoming freshman, Mike Stephens -- he's a good one who was the leading receiver on the JV.
So far, so good. But we need linemen on both sides of the ball --- particularly on the offensive side and especially with a drop back quarterback. Without protection, any QB will be less than his talent predicts. A freshman in that circumstance is painful to contemplate.
Leonlion
One guy who will give some protection to the Columbia quarterback next year is highly-rated incoming recruit, Nico Papas. ESPN describes the 6'1" 235 lb Papas as a "punishing fullback" and "devastating blocker...who frequently knocks defenders upright." ESPN also says that Pappas is a solid runner and good pass receiver. Jerry Bell and Nico Papas are both potential impact players at Columbia. I do agree with the the poster who said "So far, so good," and very impressive indeed.
Honey, I shrunk the quarterback!
Jake says Bell is 6-1, 201, his
area newspaper says he's 6-3, 215.
Whatever, sounds like a fine prospect, and if he can play,let him. Why DBs and LBs but not a QB?
We don't have to argue about Roberts vs. Domres etc., all those Lion qbs mentioned were fine. Roberts, however, is the quintessential Ivy QB of his era, a
fine athlete and student who became a noted heart surgeon.
I loved Roberts. Not only was he a fine QB, but he was the safety too on defense and the best I ever saw in the Ivies. Nobody got past him. Pretty good for a QB.
The reason he won't start is the same reason Norries had us suffer through an immobile sitting duck qb in Hormann all year.
And fyi Wit was the best QB CU has had in 50 years and arguably in the Ivies too. Not even a discussion if you played with him or had a chance to see him play.
Pete Stoll and Nico Papas in the same backfield on short yardage situations looks very good to me. Do we have any information/hints on the incoming linemen/tight ends?
Actually, Marty Domres was first drafted by the Chargers, then traded after 2-3 years to the Colts. He also spent his final year in the NFL with the Jets, if I'm not mistaken.
His misfortune was that he was always a backup to two quarterbacks then in the very prime of their careers, John Hadl and Bert Jones. But he was also always a capable backup who proved his value for both teams more than once.
Still, I too might personally vote for Witkowski as even better. During the Marcellus Wiley years, the one when we went 5-4-1, we had two quarterbacks. Cavanaugh rushed capably (isn't QB mobility an issue today?) and the other guy (sorry, name escapes me) passed.
I'm with Leonlion. Without control of the line of scrimmage even the best of quarterback or running back is in trouble.
Speaking of good QBs plagued by
weak protection, I have an enduring
image of Domres standing tall (6-4)
in the pocket until he was dragged down by a mob of tacklers. His stats were amazing for someone who was sacked so much.
Though a backup usually, he started many games in his 10-11 NFL years. I've always felt Domres' downfall was being tossed as a raw young QB into the starting role of replacing Johnny Unitas when the Colts dumped the all-time great.
Sounds like a great Lion addition in Bell. Congrats to the coaches and in particular the guy recruiting Texas, I believe that would be coach Greg Sigler. I know how much time and effort a coach puts into recruitment of a top recruit like Bell and I'm sure many if not all the Ivy schools wanted him. I too am hoping for some quality big men in the class but I remind you guys, just because you didn't see a lot of last years big guys in action don't give up on that group. It is really rare for a first year to make an impact in the interior line and we saw some good things from kids like England and Gaston. Hopefully some of their classmates will start to emerge as sophs.
I got the chance to interview Domres this year, (for halftime at the Penn game), and it was a thrill. Domres was very effusive in his praise for Bert Jones, who he said would in the hall of fame if the Colts had fielded better teams in his time.
Jamie Schwalbe, Class of '95, was the quarterback you asked about. He co-captained the 1994 team with Brian Basett. Jamie was an excellent passer, Mike Cavanaugh, Class of '96, was a great runner. No one was better than Mike Cavanaugh at running to the outside for big gains on third and one.
Domres once played safety in the closing minutes of a win against Cornell.
New recognition for Bell:
CORPUS CHRISTI – They come from big city schools like Corpus Christi Carroll and the smallest schools of South Texas like Ben Bolt. Some played on championship teams and others played on squads which struggled this fall, but they have all been brought together for the first All-Hammerheads Senior Football Team.
The team includes the best high school senior football players from throughout the Coastal Bend from the 2007 season – 25 on offense and 25 on defense. Some of the players on the team include Corpus Christi Ray quarterback Jerry Bell, who set CCISD passing records and who recently signed a national letter of intent to play for the Ivy League’s Columbia University in New York City. The team also includes Beeville players like receiver Robert Elizarde, kicker Colton Morris and defensive back Oscar Banda, and Refugio standouts like quarterback Malcolm Whitmire, running back Carl Swain and lineman Nick Barraza. Beeville and Refugio reached the regional finals this football season in their respective classifications.
The entire All-Hammerheads team will be honored before the Corpus Christi Hammerheads’ first game this season March 15 at Central Pavilion Arena in Robstown. Corpus Christi begins its Intense Football League season that night against the San Angelo Stampede-Express.
I am from the corpus area and have watched Jerry Bell play for the past couple of years. He is in fact 6-3 and goes atleast 215 and has an absolute gun. Several big time D-1 schools were after him but it shows you what kind of kid he is to choose columbia. Evidently Columbia runs a very similar offense to what Bell ran at Ray High School so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he comes in and plays right away. You got you a gem...congrats
i know the guy i go to school with him he is about 6' 2"- 6' 3" and can flatline a 30 yard pas backpedaling
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