The '06 Draft Backs with Style:

Mike Bell

September 29, 2005

By Fred Pasek

Mike Bell, RB ― Arizona, 6’1”/218 lbs.

Mike Bell’s left knee throbbed from earlier in the game when the trainers had had to help him off the filed. But this was the Arizona Wildcats’ opener, a tight game in which they trailed Utah by two scores with less than ten minutes left in the game and this was a great chance for a touchdown as they were at the Utes’ thirteen yard line. Bell ignored the pain and trotted out on the field for his first action since early in the third quarter.

Bell and the Wildcats had been gouging the Utes all day on the ground before he’d been forced to leave the game, and had moved the ball well through the air with Bell on the sideline. But, this deep in the red zone, their receivers whould now have far less room; they needed to run the ball. Since the Utes hadn’t stopped the pitch all day, they figured to run it again.

Bell lined up deep in the “I”, and took the pitch seven yards behind the line of scrimmage to the left, cradling it with hands so sure that he is sometimes split out as a receiver. With their backs to the end zone, the Utes’ linebackers weren’t too concerned with dropping into coverage and the right linebacker sliced behind the pulling blockers into the backfield. Bell’s eyes, however, never fell on the linebacker. It is a gift of vision that makes Bell special, and he had already registered somewhere in his brain where the linebacker stood. His eyes were farther down field, watching to see how the blocking was developing five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

Catching the pitch so deep, Bell could afford to hesitate a moment longer before committing. As soon as he saw that the outside contain man for the Utes jumped inside to fill the hole between the line and the linebacker, Bell broke outside, turned the corner smoothly and dove ahead for a ten yard gain. Had he gone for the bigger immediate gain, the bigger inside hole, he would have gotten half the yardage.

Bell’s cut resembles that of a hockey player changing direction on the ice with a slight twist of one ankle. There is no wild hip movement or head faking; it’s more of a cold calculation. Bell is very aware of his own speed and that of his opponent, and he calculates the precise angle to take on his cut to avoid the tackler and get up field as quickly as possible. It is not uncommon to see his just inches away from an opposing players grasp as he cuts up field around the corner.

When running inside, Bell’s vision allows him to find the pocket of least resistance, and to get the best lean at the end of his run. Like a butcher’s knife, finding the joint in a chicken leg, Bell’s helmet always seems to find the path of least resistance, allowing him to get the most yards possible from his run.

In the NFL, he will be a cutback, slashing runner, who’s combination of hands and speed will make him a threat on any down and distance. The drawback to his style of running is that he has to run more upright than others so that he can see over the linemen, meaning that he’ll take more hits on the legs, hips and torso where others will have their shoulder pads lowered. But he has shown a toughness to go with his 220 pound frame, and looks to be a very successful back at the next level.