Freshman Dia Bell: the next great quarterback at American Heritage?

PLANTATION, FLORIDA- Torrance Gibson. Jason Brown. Cam Smith. Edwin Rhodes III. Blake Murphy. 

All of the aforementioned names are previous starting quarterbacks that have donned the Plantation American Heritage uniform in the last decade. 

Each one of them didn’t see time under center on the varsity level until they were at least a sophomore. Now, there’s a new name joining the list, but this signal caller touched the field as a freshman and could be the best of them all. 

Enter Dia Bell, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound freshman quarterback that looks to be the next great following up Murphy, who played under center for the last three years. Bell, the son of former NBA star Raja Bell, is turning heads this spring as many down in South Florida believe he could be the best quarterback out of Broward in recent memory. 

“It’s easy to zone that kind of stuff out for me because that’s not what I play for or focus on,” Bell said about the hype surrounding him. “I try to focus on things that I can control. I want to be the best version of me that I can. My goals are more team goals than personal. If I am at my best, it gives our team the greatest chance to achieve those goals.”

The quarterback grew up in a household that was basketball-oriented, with his father playing 12 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Phoenix Suns. Raja has been the head basketball coach for American Heritage the last four seasons and Dia was the team’s leading scorer this past campaign, averaging 20.7 points. 

No matter what sport Dia has decided to play, he’s excelled with full support from his family. Even though Raja never played football, he’s been a huge supporter of the sport, more than even basketball. Football runs in the family, however, as Dia’s grandfather, Roger, played at Morehouse College and remains the school’s all-time leader in pass receptions. 

“My dad always encouraged me to play all sports so I could figure out what I liked the best,” the youngest Bell said. “I played soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball and football when I was younger. My dad said that he would support me in whatever my passion was. Sports or not. No, my Dad never played football. He is a big football fan though. Even more than basketball.

“I always liked both football and basketball growing up. My family are big football fans. My grandfather played wide receiver in college and worked in the athletic department at the University of Miami when they were winning national championships. I put on pads for the first time when I was in third grade, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Filling the shoes of Murphy will be a big task for Bell, who played quite a bit during his freshman season. Bell completed 13-of-21 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns. The Class of 2026 prospect already holds a couple of offers from FIU, Western Carolina and could see a slew of others come during the spring and summer. 

Though players like Brandon Inniss, Mark Fletcher are outgoing, there’s plenty of talent still coming back to the Patriots surrounding Bell. Running back Byron Louis and wide receiver Malachi Toney are a couple of the big names coming back on offense. 

Playing in 2022 with arguably some of the biggest name talents down in the 954 ver the last couple of seasons, Bell is ready to tackle the challenges of trying to lead American Heritage back to the Class 2M state championship game and it starts this spring. 

“Those are definitely big shoes to fill, but I am not really trying to fill Blake’s shoes,” Bell added. “I’m trying to get comfortable in my own shoes. I learned a lot from Blake in the two years that I was his back up and I will draw on that as we head into the season. This is definitely the most talent that I have ever played with. I am really excited about our weapons on offense and defense.”

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.