The Cardinal Countdown: 75 Days Until Kickoff

#75 Robbie Bell

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-5/298

Position: Offensive Line

Hometown: Hoschton, GA

Twitter: @thatguy_robbie1

Thoughts: He wasn’t in many headlines, probably didn’t get covered in many articles, and there is a very high probability that over 50% of the folks inside PJCS last season couldn’t identify him in a lineup, but…..Robbie Bell is a stud.

After taking a redshirt his freshman year Bell became acquainted with the offense and jumped at the opportunity last season to replace the departing Taobijah Hughley at Center. After getting some pressure from a couple local prospects Bell ultimately won the job and then held onto it the entire season, starting all 13 games. A man of much higher character would gloss over the fact that 75 days before the 2017 season began he himself pegged Bell as a starter and player of the future….I am not that man.

From the 2017 Robbie Bell countdown post:

Hate to place the Mike Marra type expectations on a freshman but I honestly think Bell could be the beginning of the next chapter for the Cards up front. As we lose McNeil, Christian, Thomas, etc in the next year or two I think Bell will be the mainstay to help anchor the next crop of lineman into the fold

Bell, like the rest of the line last season, wasn’t without mistake and certainty had a few struggles early in the season but he was a consistent force up the middle in both the pass and run game once conference play started. Although my Coach Summers man crush may be a tad over the top, the kids deserve some props as well, since ya know, they have to go and actually make the plays. Bell performed above what anyone could have expected from a RS Freshman and even his early “misses” were better than what we had seen from some of the folks who had previously occupied that position. Summers is doing a heck of a job molding these talented young players into becoming a force early in their careers, in fact, the “Killer B’s” (Bell, Bentley, Becton, Bateman) all have three plus years of eligibility left and are already making a dent in the depth chart setting the Cards up nicely up front.

In a perfect world I’d love to see Bell add another 10-15lb on his frame, adding to the 10 lbs or so he’s bulked up since arriving on campus. That extra weight helps when those big uglies on defense come up the gut. Extra weight or not I fully expect Bell to hold onto his starting spot in 2018 and continue to grow (literally and figuratively) as the year progresses.

***

Game 4: Virginia Cavaliers

Key Player: Bryce Perkins, Quarterback, Junior

Perkins is a JUCO transfer to the Cavs this season by way of Arizona State. Perkins lead his Arizona Western CC squad to the NJCAA Championship last season while pilling up over 1,300 yards in the air and over 350 yards on the ground. Coach Mendenhall named Perkins, a dual-threat QB, the starter heading into the fall because he showed some flashes in the spring and was one of the lone bright spots for a team looking to replace and rebuild on offense. Perkins is taking over for Kurt Benkert, (whose parents should be stoned for naming that) and will likely be a challenge for the Louisville defense early in the year with both his arm and his legs. Having the advantage of chasing Lamar and Puma the last three seasons will certainly help but we all know how these Virginia games seem to always be much closer than they should. If Bryce can run free things could get tight late. It will take a “pack line” defensive effort from the front 7 to keep Bryce in the pocket….you know, because Virginia plays a pack li-…forget it.

Sweet Tweet: Robbie only shoots out retweets and when he retweeted this, I was intrigued.

1. I’m 100% okay with hating Hummus.

2. Missouri, why are you the way you are?

3. California, I think you were supposed to secede already...