UCLA Football Offers Class of 2025 Wide Receiver Phillip Bell III

The Bruins joined Georgia, USC, Michigan, Notre Dame and others in adding the stat-sheet stuffer to their recruiting board.
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The Bruins have formalized their recruitment of one of the top prospects in Southern California.

Class of 2025 wide receiver Phillip Bell III announced he received an offer fromUCLA football Tuesday on Twitter. The Bishop Alemany High School (CA) product is a recent transplant to the Southern California football scene, but has taken numerous visits to both the Rose Bowl and Westwood since arriving in the Greater Los Angeles area.

UCLA is the 35th program to offer Bell, joining the likes of Alabama, Arizona Arizona State, Auburn, Boston College, California, Colorado, Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, San Jose State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF, UNLV, USC, Utah, Utah State and Washington.

Back on April 1, Bell received a crystal ball prediction in favor of USC from 247Sports' Michigan Insider Steve Lorenz. Although coach Lincoln Riley and company have had a head start on Bell – offering the 6-foot-2 wideout in November – there are plenty of other schools that appear to be in the running.

In March alone, Bell took unofficial visits to Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, UCLA, Penn State and Ohio State. Bell had previously stopped by Washington and Colorado in January.

Bell picked up all of this recruiting buzz before playing a snap for Bishop Alemany, starring as an underclassman at Christian Brothers High School (CA). In 25 games across two seasons, Bell racked up 1,820 yards and 32 touchdowns on 129 receptions, plus another 116 yards on the ground, 281 as a kick returner, 129 on punt returns and 68 as a passer.

The Sacramento native is set to participate in the 2025 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, having been selected to take part in the collegiate prospect showcase last August.

Bell is a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3. In the 247Sports Composite, Bell is ranked as the No. 6 player in California, the No. 7 wide receiver in the country and the No. 42 overall prospect in his class.

Bell was one of four class of 2025 wide receivers that received an offer from UCLA on Tuesday, joining Raiden Vines-Bright, Talyn Taylor and Cooper Perry. Prior to that run, wide receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel hadn't offered a single pass-catcher for the upcoming cycle.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILLIP BELL III/INSTAGRAM


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Benjamin Royer
BENJAMIN ROYER

Benjamin Royer is a contributing writer at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks. Royer is a third-year student at UCLA, where he is a Sports contributor for the school's award-winning student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin. Royer was previously the Sports Editor at The Valley Star, Los Angeles Valley College's independent newspaper, and he helped develop the Twinger Talk YouTube channel and The Double Play podcast. He is also a professional actor, previously appearing in programs on Showtime, ABC, Disney Channel, FOX and CBS.