David Bell fueling Purdue offense
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Losing an All-American wide receiver and eventual NFL draft pick to injury would hurt any team, and it certainly hurt Purdue when sophomore Rondale Moore went down.
But having a guy like David Bell to step in during the absence helps ease the pain.
Bell, just a true freshman, has been “Rondale Moore-esk” this season for Purdue. he's been that good.
“David’s been outstanding,” Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said of his 6-foot-2, 210-pound receiver from Indianapolis. “He’s somebody who's going to have to be a playmaker for us. With where we’re at right now, every game we’re going to have to utilize him.”
Bell has been outstanding all season, but he's even taken it up another notch in the past two week against Maryland and Iowa, where he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors two weeks in a row.
Against Maryland, Bell set career highs in catches (9), yards (138) and touchdowns (2). He one-upped that performance the following week, topping the career highs — in catches (13) and yards (197) — that he set the week prior. He added another touchdown as well.
The 197 receiving yards were the most in a game by a freshman in school history.
Having to step up as the team’s go-to option, Bell has posted 635 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. And he just continues to get better week in and week out.
“For a true freshman to come in and put up numbers like that, I think is a testament to his talent, his work ethic and the fact that he’s got a bright future,” Brohm said.
Unlike Moore, who’s got the speed to run right by people or make people miss in space, Bell has relied on his route-running and ability to make plays that others just simply can’t. Those skills have led Brohm to give the wideout an endorsement that most receivers can only dream about.
“David reminds me of a young Jerry Rice for the fact that everything is smooth. He doesn’t look like he’s going to make the spectacular play, but he always makes the play,” Brohm said. “He’s just a steady, consistent competitor, and we’re glad he’s on our team.”
A great example of just how difficult it is to defend against Bell came last week against Iowa. On his touchdown reception, he was covered tightly on a ball that was under-thrown, but he was still able to find the ball, come back to it, and make the catch while already laying on the ground.
It was Rondale last year.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 19, 2019
It's David Bell (@DavidB3ll) this year.@BoilerFootball has a special true freshman WR for the second straight season. pic.twitter.com/8ZuQJSeTKn
“He’s just a playmaker,'' Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer said. “He’s a guy who you can look to and you can trust that he’s going to do the right thing.”
What's most amazing about Bell's season so far is that we have yet to see him at full strength.
The 4-star recruit out of Warren Central missed almost all of training camp with a hamstring injury, and has been playing through the effects of a shoulder injury that forced him out of the TCU game earlier in the season.
“He competes. He’s played through a few injuries here and there, but he continues to give great effort and he just makes the play,” Brohm said. “You can tell he’s a football player with a lot of confidence because if the ball gets close to him, he is going to make the play.”
The fact that he isn’t at full strength should scare opposing teams.
For the second straight season, Purdue has had a standout freshman wide receiver stepping up. Maybe he's not Rondale Moore, but that's fine. All he needs to be is David Bell, and he's doing just that.
He’s quickly making a name for himself across the country.
