Fear not, Jets fans. New York has finally gotten its man.
The Jets made headlines in the early hours of Wednesday morning by agreeing to a four-year, $52.5 million contract with star running back Le’Veon Bell, the crowned jewel of this year’s free agent class.
Bell comes to the Big Apple after sitting out all of 2018 due to a contractual dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Much will be expected of the 28-year-old tailback once he suits up for the Jets, but there is a lot of time between now and the beginning of the regular season. What better way to spend that time than getting to know New York’s newest star?
Here are four things you may have not known about Bell until now.
Former three-sport star
Before Bell was making millions to take carries and catch passes out of the backfield, he was a three-sport star at Groveport Madison High School in Ohio. There, Bell played football, basketball and ran track.
When he wasn’t busy dominating on the gridiron, Bell made a habit of becoming a menace on the basketball court. As a junior, he earned Second-Team All-OCC Ohio Division honors. Bell’s athletic exploits did not end on the hardwood, as he ran the 100 and 200-meter dashes in track and was one of the state’s best high jumpers.
Lightly Recruited
Given his dominance in the college and professional ranks, it comes a surprise that Bell was lightly recruited coming out of high school.
Bell was ranked as a three-star recruit, according to the 247 Sports composite ranking, but was considered a two-star player by various recruiting outlets. In fact, 247 Sports did not even rank Bell when he was in high school.
Michigan State was Bell’s only Power Five offer, as Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Marshall were the other schools involved in his recruitment. If it weren’t for Mark Dantonio’s decision to take a chance on the Ohio native, who knows where Bell would be at today.
Animal Lover
If there’s one thing that is for certain with Bell, it’s that he won’t be caught wearing a fur coat anytime soon.
Bell is a self-proclaimed animal lover and has worked with PETA in the past to stick up for animals who are used for their fur in order to make clothing. He even filmed an advertisement for the organization with the slogan “wear ink, not mink.”
A Man of God
Like many players around the league, Bell is extremely religious and he is not afraid to show it.
Bell has both Jeremiah 1:5 and John 3:16, two bible verses, tattooed onto his left arm. It is not uncommon for athletes to get tattoos of bible verses as a reminder of their faith, but for Bell, it has a deeper meaning. All of Bell’s tattoos represent an important facet of his life, as he has even gone as far as tattooing a picture of his mother embracing him after a Michigan State loss in the Big 10 Championship game.
Bell considers religion to be an important aspect of his life and something that is engrained in him. Once New York’s newest running back finds paydirt in 2019, don’t be surprised to see him offer up a prayer or two in the endzone.
