STARKVILLE — Jimmy Bell Jr. was at the movie theater with his girlfriend on April 26.
It was the final day of the 2025 NFL Draft. Bell was realistic. There was little to no chance he was getting drafted. After all, he’s never played a snap of college football.
But his agents told him to keep his phone ringer on, just in case. He received a call just as he sat down in his seat to watch “Sinners.” The Los Angeles Chargers were inviting him to rookie minicamp.
Bell and his girlfriend quickly left the theater and he accepted the invitation.
Bell, who was a forward and center for Mississippi State basketball in the 2023-24 season, hasn’t played in a live football game since his sophomore year of high school. Yet, he’ll get a shot in the NFL when he reports to rookie minicamp as an offensive lineman on May 8.
“It’s still kind of surreal for me to get an opportunity like this because there’s still guys that played four or five years of college football that still didn’t get an opportunity,” Bell told the Clarion Ledger. “And you look at me, who hasn’t played a down in football in college, I get an opportunity like this. I’m kind of just taking it for what it is. Just not passing up on the opportunity, really.”
Jimmy Bell Jr.’s path from football to basketball and back to football
Bell played football and basketball at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, through his sophomore year.
He was good at football. He was named to the MaxPreps 2014 Freshman All-American Second Team with the likes of current NFL players Jahan Dotson, Justyn Ross and Malik Heath. His 247Sports information page, lists him as a 6-foot-8, 314-pound offensive tackle, with offers from Akron and Eastern Michigan. It also logged unofficial visits to Michigan and Michigan State.
Bell kept growing, to the point where playing football became difficult to stick with football.
“As high school went on, I was getting taller, getting bigger, and kind of fell in love with basketball a little bit more just because I was so tall,” Bell said. “Football at the time, I kept getting hit in my knees and getting chop blocked. So it kind of just was basketball for me. Football has been my first love.”
He moved to Bella Vista College Prep School in Scottsdale, Arizona, dropping football to focus on basketball. A post on Bell’s X account, formerly known as Twitter, from Aug. 10, 2017 also cites the firing of longtime Saginaw basketball coach Greg McMath as a reason for him moving.
A college basketball career with four different teams followed. He played two seasons at Saint Louis, one at Moberly Area Community College in Missouri and another one at West Virginia before transferring to Mississippi State.
He played in all 35 games for the Bulldogs with 16 starts. Bell averaged 5.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game as MSU reached a second straight NCAA tournament under coach Chris Jans.
After the basketball season, Bell joined the football team. He practiced with the Bulldogs and played in the spring game. Bell did the same thing the year prior at West Virginia after a Kansas City Chiefs scout suggested it to then-coach Bob Huggins.
“He’s a giant,” MSU football coach Jeff Lebby said in April 2024. “Natural length, big guy. Big people have tended to have success in this game. That’s where it starts.”
Why are NFL teams interested in Jimmy Bell Jr.?
Bell entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of spring practices. He thought he had one more year of eligibility to play football, but he didn’t. A waiver was denied.
Bell stayed in Starkville and trained for football. He participated in Mississippi State’s pro day in March. Other NFL teams such as the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and New York Jets spoke with him, but the Chargers showed the most interest.
“We were sitting with a coach who played in the NFL on a recruitment trip when we thought we had eligibility, and he walked in and he looked at him and said, ‘You have elite NFL feet,’ ” Bell’s agent, DC Hammack, said. “‘Your feet because of your basketball skills, a 7-3 wingspan and the ability to move, there’s not a lot of humans his size on the earth that move.’”
How common is Jimmy Bell Jr.’s NFL opportunity?
There have been numerous two-sport college athletes, but there aren’t many players that have made it in the NFL without playing college football. It has been done before.
Antonio Gates is one of the best examples. He, like Bell, is also from Michigan and was signed by the Chargers out of college. Gates turned into a five-time All-Pro tight end. Other players who’ve done it include Preston Pearson, Percy Howard, Ron Howard and Pete Gent. Current Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox only played basketball at VCU.
The Denver Broncos drafted basketball player Caleb Lohner of Utah in the seventh round of this year’s draft, but he also played tight end for the Utes.
“We don’t know where Jimmy is going to go because he’s a moldable piece, a left tackle or right tackle,” Hammack said. “A defensive coordinator could fall in love with him and say, ‘Come on this side of the ball.’ “
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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