Since the middle of last season Oklahoma Sooners fans have had a real treat as they have been able to watch Sophomore quarterback Blake Bell bulldoze his way to glory for the Sooners. And while he’s been a tremendous weapon in the run game, picking up first downs and touchdowns with regularity, the parallels between he and former Florida Gator Tim Tebow cannot be denied. Let’s make a few comparisons and see if we can predict what the future might hold for Bell.
One key difference between the 2 is Bell redshirted his freshman year, whereas Tebow made his initial impact as a true freshman.
But looking first year to first year, there are some striking similarities. Both players came in as a run specialist, benching the incumbent, and in many cases to the cheers of the faithful. For Bell last year he was more of a novelty, as quarterback Landry Jones was in more command of the offense.
But looking at 2012 for Bell to 2006 for Tebow, there is much alike in terms of how both were received by their fans. Tebow saw more snaps than Bell has to this point, and his packages called for him to throw more, but the skill sets of them are very similar and their ability to swing the tide of a game back to their team is almost identical. Also, by all accounts Bell is a very likeable, gregarious, and a born leader, which is also a lot like what Tebow was for the Florida Gators.
So, as I look forward this season and toward the future. I expect Sooners head coach Bob Stoops to work Bell more into the offense adding more wrinkles, and utilizing Bell’s ability to throw the football. And by 2013, this team will belong to Bell. Tebow had 3 years as the starter where Bell will only get 2. But I invited everyone to dig a little and find some video of Bell in high school. Tebow in high school was a run first quarterback, but for Bell, he was the no.1 pro style quarterback in the country. He’s never had a chance to show it, but make no mistakes he is a better thrower than Tebow. He might not be quite the runner, but that was never his game. This is something he’s developed in college as he’s gained 40lbs.
Can Bell have the sort of individual and team success Tebow had? I would say yes. He won’t have 3 years to do it, but there is nothing to say that he can’t lead his team to great success on the legs and his arm. He’s going to have a very talented team around him, and there’s no doubt he has the talent. It might take him some time to get up to speed, but I can see him a Heisman frontrunner as a Senior and his team a Championship contender.
As a Sooner fan, I am über excited to see Bell in charge of my favorite team. He could very well redefine the position, at least from an OU perspective. Fans have all grown so accustomed to the high-powered quick passing game from a pocket quarterback, a player like Bell in full control is going to be something special.
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