Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
T here's been a change in Brandon Bell this year. And, no, it's not only the new number on his jersey. Sure, this spring he exchanged his No. 26 for No. 11, a jersey number steeped in tradition at Linebacker U. Additional changes – improvements – were abundant this off-season as well. His coaches saw a stronger, more focused, more mature, more leadership-oriented Bell, and that brings a smile to Bell's face because, after all, that's been his ultimate goal. Entering his third season at Penn State, Bell refers to 2015 as "the money year" – and not only because he'll be draft-eligible once it's over, drawing more attention from NFL scouts and coaches. Playing professionally isn't necessarily his im- mediate focus. Rather, he sees his role as an upperclassmen as being critical to the overall success of his defense. Which it probably is. "Junior year is a big year," Bell said. "I'm not a young player anymore. I'm more of a leader now, an older guy in a sense. So this is just a big year for me to step my game up." Expecting more and achieving more seems to be the natural progression of Bell's career. He first stepped his game up when he was a freshman. Enrolling as a three-star recruit, Bell made his collegiate debut in the second game of his first season and earned his first start in the season fi- nale, making his mark with a violent hit on Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave that resulted in an interception and 33-yard return by C.J. Olaniyan – a play that helped spring PSU to a season-ending upset over the 14th-ranked Badgers. He finished that first season with 24 total tackles and a forced fumble. Then he followed that up with an even stronger sophomore campaign. He nearly doubled his tackle total with 47 stops, seven of which went for a total loss of 43 yards. He also tallied two sacks. Stepping up his game? Check. As he admitted in a recent interview, however, he wasn't totally comfortable in 2014 – even if his stat line suggests oth- erwise. With the new coaching staff came a new defense, and for Bell, that also meant a new position. Sure, he was still a line- backer, but coordinator Bob Shoop and position coach Brent Pry selected the Mays Landing, N.J., native as their starting Sam linebacker. In the newly implemented sys- tem, that position required Bell to handle a fresh set of responsibilities. Shoop refers to the Sam as a "field line- 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L DIGITAL REVOLUTION Brandon Bell gets new number to symbolize new role as veteran leader of LB corps | L I N E B A C K E R S