Blue White Illustrated

J A N U A R Y 3 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 13 PASADENA, Calif. – In the final game of his Penn State career, Brandon Bell walked off the Rose Bowl field Monday night in street clothes and with his le@ arm in a sling. An hour before, he had been in helmet and pads, making one of the greatest plays of his Nittany Lion career. It would also be his last. Although it was USC that finished the game victorious, 52-49, at one point in the third quarter Penn State held a 15- point advantage, and one play from Bell was a reason why. With the Trojans fac- ing second-and-8 from their own 25- yard line, quarterback Sam Darnold forced a pass to his right, which was de- flected by cornerback Christian Camp- bell. With the ball bobbling in the air, Bell swooped in for his second career inter- ception. He then hustled down the side- line for a 24-yard return before being tackled at the 3-yard line, setting up a score on the offense's very next play. As his teammates celebrated, Bell laid on the ground, wincing in pain as team trainers rushed to his side. He would not return and was not available to speak to reporters a@erward. It was an unfortunate way for him to end his career, but as defensive coordi- nator Brent Pry noted, the play was em- blematic of the kind of player he was for the Nittany Lions. "It just epitomized him," Pry said. "That play he made, being around the ball like that, when coming up with it and then the run a@er the catch – that's who he is. He's just a special guy that way. I hate it for him that he couldn't finish that game like that. I absolutely hate it for him. One other thing, he had another play or two le@ in him out there. If he's not our best player, he's one of our best players. He makes a lot of plays, espe- cially in big games. Obviously it hurts losing a guy like that." Once Bell headed to the locker room, USC went on to outscore the Nittany Lions, 24-7. It also gained 243 yards. Already down one linebacker, due to the suspension of Manny Bowen, Pry was forced to reshuffle his unit late in the game. "It's nothing that we haven't been in before," Pry said. "We had to step up. We lost those guys earlier in the year. We had to find a way and step up today for Manny. Cam Brown has played some football for us this year. It felt fine putting him in the game, but guys have to step up. That's been the thing about this team. We've been able to do that. Young guys, walk-on guys – it didn't matter. If your ticket was punched, you had to do your job." The Trojans, however, were too much for PSU's defense to overcome as the game wore on. There were other factors in play beside the loss of Bell, but the void his injury created played a part. "Brandon is a baller," said junior safety Marcus Allen, who finished the game with nine tackles. "That's what he's born to do. We – I should've played harder for him." Aside from the interception, Bell fin- ished the game with only one tackle, but he finished the year ranked second on the team with 88 total, a career high. He fin- ished his four-year career with the Nit- tany Lions with 224 total tackles in 42 games. He also had 27 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. A team captain, he graduated in December with a degree in telecom- munications. "I love Brandon Bell," Pry said. "He epitomizes, I think, Linebacker U – the toughness, the spirit, the production and the finding a way. He's just a special guy. He's an unbelievable college linebacker, in my opinion, a guy who plays hurt, has played hurt for two years for the most part. He's not overly big. He's not overly strong. He's not overly fast, but he plays linebacker the way you want a guy to play it." T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . c O M A FITTING FINALE Bell makes impact in injury-shortened final game Bell ran back an interception 24 yards in what would turn out to be his final play as a Nittany Lion. Photo by Steve Manuel

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