Just minutes before Penn State kicked off to Maryland in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore last October, Bob Shoop spotted a beat writer in the press box hallway.
“Great day for a college football game,” enthused Shoop, the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator, about the 61-degree weather and crowded venue.
“It is,” came the reply. “But it doesn’t look like everything’s so great for Brandon Bell. It looked like he pulled himself out of warm-ups.”
Shoop flinched, just a bit. Bell had been fighting a number of injuries, and was far from 100 percent.
“I know. That’s the one thing that can’t happen,” he said. “He’s someone we need, especially today.”
Shoop, as had been his want throughout his successful 26-game stint at Penn State, was dead on. Penn State’s defense was about to face a dual-threat quarterback in Perry Hills, who eventually finished the game with 54 of the Terrapins’ 76 touches – 26 runs for 124 yards and 28 passes (completing 19) for 225 yards, with TDs by land and by air.
Bell’s presence, as a mobile and veteran outside linebacker, was critical. Especially since a key part of Shoop’s game plan was to unleash Bell on the Terp offense. Again and again.
Blitzing early and often off the edge against Maryland, Bell led the Nittany Lions’ defense with a sack and three tackles for a loss. But it was his forced fumble in the fourth quarter that saved the Nittany Lions’ 31-30 margin of victory. It came seconds after Penn State’s Nick Scott fumbled a Maryland kickoff, setting up the Terps just 32 yards from a go-ahead TD.
On Maryland’s very first play after the miscue, Shoop sent Bell blitzing in off of the left side. The call worked. Bell was untouched and forced Hills to fumble. The ball popped into the hands of alert and agile defensive end Garrett Sickels, who ran 36 yards to halt the Terps’ drive.
Saved by the Bell.
Despite the (NFL) Combined play of the Nittany Lions’ defensive front, Bell to the rescue happened more than you think in 2015. And as the senior leader of the defense in 2016, it will have to happen even more often this fall.
Bell’s 22 starts are more than any other Penn State defensive player. Fellow linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White, who tore his ACL in the 2015 season-opener but should be OK come September, is second with 21. He’ll sit out drills this spring. (The only other returning Nittany Lions with more than 20 starts are wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton and offensive lineman Brian Gaia, each with 25, and offensive tackle Andrew Nelson, with 21.)
Among the returning Nittany Lions, Bell is tops in sacks (5.5 for 33 yards), tackles for a loss (12.5 for 52 yards), forced fumbles (3) and quarterback hurries (3). And he ranks No. 3 in tackles, with 65, behind fellow ’backer Jason Cabinda (100) and hard-hitting safety Marcus Allen (81). Bell had a bowl of a game against Georgia with a team-high 11 tackles, and also was strong on the road at Northwestern, with eight tackles – 3.5 of them for a loss.
PRY’S REPORT
Defensive coordinator Brent Pry, Shoop’s successor who doubles as the lead professor for Linebacker U., can’t say enough good things about the 6-foot-1, 231-pound senior linebacker from Mays Landing, N.J.
“The thing about Brandon Bell is that he has tremendous instincts,” Pry said last month on Jerry Fisher’s “Zone Coverage” radio program. “He would tell you this: You’re not going to look at the record boards in the weight room and see B. Bell’s name up there. But you’re going to look at that film and say, ‘Holy cow, this guy might be one of their better defensive players.’ ”
Pry knows what Shoop knew, that Bell’s skills are especially suited for stopping offensive opponents that run spread-type offenses. Bell may not be super-fast, but he is quick and smart and athletic.
“He does very well out in space,” Pry said. “He’s strong, he’s hard to block. Receivers and offensive players on the perimeter find it hard to block him, to get an angle on him. But at the same time, there’s not much wasted movement with B. Bell. He’s just very good at diagnosing and reading and cheating at the right time. He’s a very savvy, instinctual player who has been very productive. I’m super-excited about his senior year.”
THAT’S FUNNY
Bell is too, although he doesn’t always show it on the outside. He owns a bit of a bearded poker face, with a hint of a grin – actually half-grimace, half-smirk — that is a constant off the field.
Witness Penn State’s pre-bowl media day in December. He walked into the Beaver Stadium interview room and saw Hamilton, one of his best and closest friends on the team, surrounded by a half-circle of reporters. Bell pulled out his phone and stuck it close to Hamilton’s mouth, aping the media horde and causing the wide receiver – and the media types – to crack up.
Then there was his appearance on the Lasch practice fields last Saturday afternoon, after the team hosted a couple dozen THON kids and their families. He was a sporting a jersey, sweatpants and a pair of light tan deck shoes. No socks.
His answers, not the lengthiest of the group (especially when the loquacious Nelson is also an option), were characteristically sincere and succinct. And full of character. And funny.
First, the sincere: Hosting the kids “lets guys know that although this is what we do 24/7, it’s not who we are,” Bell said. “Giving back is what it’s all about. Seeing these kids smile is what it’s all about.”
Then the succinct, when asked about all the kids chasing down star running back Saquon Barkley: “Everybody wants to find 26,” Bell said. “I told them I wore 26 before 11.”
Then, the funny. “What kind of questions did the kids ask?” Bell was asked.
“What’s this, what’s that, what does this do – especially in the weight room,” Bell said. “And they also wanted to know, ‘Are you fast, are you good, do you play?’”
And the linebacker’s reply?
“Yes, yes and yes.”
