Bishop Carroll quarterback Blake Bell made a name for himself last season by scrambling and avoiding pass rushes throughout his initial season as the starter for the Golden Eagles.
But last Friday the senior-to-be succumbed to the rush of running onto Owen Field at Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium on football Saturdays starting in 2010.
Although he won’t be able to make his intentions official until he signs a letter-of-intent next February, Bell verbally committed to Oklahoma and head coach Bob Stoops.
Bell wasn’t planning on committing when he made an unofficial visit last Thursday, but something clicked. The 6-foot-6 signal caller and the Sooners were a perfect match.
“Everything just fit,” the long time Sooner fan said of his decision. “They (Sooner coaching staff) are real. They don’t feed you full of a lot of things that they think you want to hear. Everyone’s for real and I fit the system.
“There is really no reason to get more confused. They say once you know, you know.”
While Bell knew he wanted to play at Oklahoma before the recruiting process started, the Kansas single season record holder for yards passing (3,240) wanted to look around and see if any other schools may have been a fit as well.
Before committing to the Sooners, Bell had scheduled visits with Texas A&M, Florida, Nebraska, Georgia and UCLA just to name a few. He was set for his spring tour, which has since been called off.
Bell is the second Wichita native in as many years to be considered the top player nationally at his position. Wichita East running back Bryce Brown was considered by many experts to be the top player in the nation a year ago.
Brown had committed to the University of Miami in February of 2008 before signing with Tennessee last month. But a switch isn’t in the cards for Bell.
“I’m solid on it,” Bell said of his commitment. “Quarterbacks start committing early because schools are signing just one a year. Besides there is really no reason to wait. I’m solid on it.”
Although he’s relieved that the recruiting process is over for him, Bell hinted that he may miss some of the process.
“It was definitely a fun experience,” he said. “I’m kind of sad that it’s over. It was great to talk to coaches that I looked up to when I was young, guys that I watched on television. And now all of a sudden they want me to come play for them.”
Bell, who accepted an invitation to play in the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game next January, will attempt to carry the Golden Eagles deeper into the Kansas Class 5A state football playoffs next fall.
Bishop Carroll upended Salina Central 26-19 during first round action, before falling to McPherson 20-14 in the quarterfinals. Bell completed 38 of 52 passes for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the season ending loss to the Bullpups.
As a first year starter last fall, Kansas’ 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year hooked up with Bishop Carroll receivers for 3,240 yards and 37 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions, after completing 255 of 401 passes.
Bell, who is the fourth 4-Star recruit to commit to Oklahoma’s 2010 class, showed his escapability by rushing for 336 yards and 12 scores on 91 carries last season.
Bell will join fellow Kansans and 2009 Oklahoma recruits Jaydan Bird (Conway Springs) and Marshall Musil (LaCrosse) in Norman. All three players were selected as top 11 players in the Wichita Eagle and the Topeka Capital Journal following the 2008 season.
Girls Track and Field: Kloster Spears School Records
Pittsburg’s Amber Kloster out-distanced the rest of the field in both the shot put and the javelin at last Friday’s Baldwin Invitational track and field meet.
She also shattered her school’s records in both events in the process.
Kloster won the shot put with a toss of 39-feet, 4.25-inches, bettering the previous mark of 39-1 set in 1978. Her throw of 138-1 in the javelin was five feet better than the school’s 1990 record of 133-1.
Kloster placed third in the shot put (38-10) at last season’s 5A state track and field meet in Wichita and fifth in the javelin (131-7).
Her early season distances have perched Kloster eighth (shot put) and second (javelin) on Hovpensports.com’s girls track and field leader board respectively.
“I knew that it would be a matter of time before she broke them,” Pittsburg head track coach Gary Ausemus told the Pittsburg Morning Sun of Kloster’s record breaking performance. “I thought that it would be early because she has been throwing well.”