“Best decision I’ve ever made”: Quinton Bell recalls the bold move that propelled him to earn an NFL contract in 2019
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Most professional sportsmen who are able to make a name for themselves in their careers need to go through a rigorous phase of struggle to achieve their dream. Often as viewers, people tend to overlook that phase, but most sportsmen would agree that if not for that phase, they might not have made it into the big leagues.
Atlanta Falcons‘ Quinton Bell’s story is no different and in fact, is even more intriguing given that he used to jump between running on tracks and football during his school and college years. The 26-year-old recently revealed his story while speaking with the Atlanta Falcons’ official website.
Bell revealed how it was difficult for him to get into a school which would allow him to run track and play football simultaneously. Once Quinton Bell got the opportunity at Prairie View, he pounced on it, but even then he did not have it easy when it came to getting an NFL contract after finishing college.
“I had a crazy high school experience. I had some people pushing my film around that whole year, trying to see if I could still get a football offer, and Prairie View invited me for a visit,” Bell said. “I still wanted to play football, but I also wanted to run track and Prairie View was one of the few schools that were going to allow me to run track and play football.”
“I was like you ‘you know what, Imma take it,’ you know what I’m saying?” Quinton Bell said. “I want to ball, and I get to run track too, so I took the opportunity.”
Quinton Bell had to change himself from a wide receiver to an outside linebacker
Starting out in football, Quinton Bell was a wide receiver and played at that position for 3 years, however, admittedly it was not the best that he performed. Cometh Bell’s senior year, his defensive line coach and defensive coordinator approached him with the opportunity to play on defense.
For a youngster who has started out as an offensive player, it shook him at first but after deep thought, he agreed to it. In his solo season at the defensive end, Bell racked up 46 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss and was an all-conference selection.
“At first, it sounded crazy to me,” Bell said. “Three years at receiver and just playing defensive end in general just didn’t sound like even an option. But, the more they talked to me about the potential for the NFL, I was like ‘I got nothing to lose.’ I didn’t want to look back not trying it, you know, and until this day, it’s probably the best decision I’ve ever made.”
His performances led to an NFL opportunity in 2019 when he was selected as the 230th overall, in the seventh round by the Las Vegas Raiders. Since then, he went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he earned a Super Bowl ring and eventually was moved onto the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
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