Joel Bell (born July 29, 1985) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. He signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in 2009. In 2004 Bell accepted an athletic scholarship to attend

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

in Greenville, SC. From 2006 to 2008 as left tackle, he captured All-Conference honors each year as well as All-American honors and the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, son of the founder and president of Presbyterian Colleg ...

his senior year. Bell was also named to the 2007 South Carolina All-State Football Team and the 2008 College Sporting News FCS Fabulous 50 Team. In 2009 Bell played in the Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Classic and was invited to the 2009

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. After a short stint with the

in 2009 where chronic injuries lead to Bell's release, he helped lead the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

to two back-to-back

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

appearances. In the 2011 UFL Draft, Bell was chosen fifth overall by the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

and helped the team to the championship that year. After suffering what would be a career ending injury, Bell spent the 2012 season on injury reserve with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. Since finishing his football career, he has completed two master's degrees from

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

, and begun a doctorate from Christ Church,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

References

External links

Furman University player bioNFL Combine statsSaskatchewan Roughriders bioEdmonton Eskimos player bio
1985 births Living people Canadian football offensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Furman Paladins football players Las Vegas Locomotives players Players of Canadian football from Cleveland Saskatchewan Roughriders players Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Players of American football from Cleveland {{Canadianfootball-offensive-lineman-stub