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Wherever senior Jalen Bell (0) lines up in Friday’s playoff game against Treasure Coast, he’ll help the Osceola defense. PHOTO/KATIE WILLIAMS
Every great story of redemption has a turning point. For Osceola defensive back Jalen Bell, his was when he realized he was about to throw away both his football career, and his very future.
A few months earlier, Bell had gotten into a spell of trouble and was not only dismissed from the Osceola football team but also from the school – forcing him to enroll in an alternative high school. It was a definite low moment in his life but one he credits his teammates for forcing him to change his heart.
“Osceola football is a family and the players are brothers,” he said. “When I got into trouble and got kicked out of school, I realized how badly I was missing my family and my brothers. Those guys really encouraged me to do whatever it took to get back. At that point, I knew I had to change my attitude and change my way of doing things.”
That realization caused Bell to walk into Defensive Coordinator Brad Lennox’s office in the spring of 2022.
“I went in and basically begged the coaches for a second chance,” Bell recalled,” an appeal that at first fell on deaf ears.
“Kids are always going to tell you everything they think you want to hear, what you have to determine is how serious they are,” Lennox said. “The second thing is that we were absolutely stacked at defensive back. We were had a couple of highly recruited players back there and were two-deep on the depth chart and although I knew Jalen was not a bad kid, I was just trying to be honest with him: I doubted he would see much playing time.”
What came out of Bell’s mouth next not only surprised Lennox and the coaches, but got him the second chance he was seeking.
“With an incredible amount of sincerity in his voice he just said, ‘Coach, I promise if you give me this chance, I will never cause you or the program an ounce or trouble. I’m going to get my life in order and give you 110% all the time. If you give me a chance, you won’t be sorry, but you also won’t be able to get me off the field.’” In his first game of his 2022 sophomore year, he came up huge in the season opener against Treasure Coast. Lining up at nickel back, outside linebacker, safety and defensive end, he recorded five tackles and brought incredible energy in a hard-fought 14-5 win.
“He wasn’t listed on our roster for that first game but that was an oversight, but his performance was not,” OHS Coach Eric Pinellas recalled. “Those same plays he was making that night were the same plays he was making all during training camp, so we sort of knew he had something special brewing.”
It would be just the beginning for the 6-3, 190-pound. Bell, who would end up assuming a “Swiss Army Knife” role for the Kowboys.
“Basically, wherever we needed him to play, we would put him there,” Pinellas said. “Safety, corner, nickel, inside linebacker, outside linebacker and even defensive end; we would line him up there. He told us we wouldn’t be able to take him off the field and we weren’t. He earned every snap he got that season.”
His efforts helped the Kowboys to three playoff wins and a Class 4S state semifinal spot against eventual state champion Lakeland.
While redeeming himself of the football field, Bell was also busy redeeming himself in the class room and in the community. He raised his GPA to a 3.4 and hopes to eventually enter the medical field in college, possibly becoming a cardiologist. Bell sings in his church choir and he also took a job at Publix, where he continues to work at least 20-plus hours a week – even during football season.
Although the Kowboys lost more than a dozen senior starters from that 2022 team, including five Division-I signees, Bell took high hopes for both for his team and himself into his senior year. Through 10 games Bell has recorded 54 tackles, six interceptions, and three blocked kicks while playing safety, corner, inside and outside linebacker. When Osceola’s punter was injured, he even stepped in there and averaged a more than respectable 33.9 yards per kick.
Team-wise, with the Kowboys again playing one of the state’s toughest schedules —six opponents who made the playoffs this year and two others are playing in bowl games –things did not go as anticipated after a 1-5 start. The Kowboys did blow through their district schedule, outscoring opponents 1433 while earning their 17th consecutive playoff bid. Despite going 0-6 against teams in the 2023 playoffs, Bell says no one should count out Osceola in the post-season “We always play tough schedules for the purpose of getting ready for the playoffs. We didn’t have a good season by our standards, but it would be a mistake for anyone to think we’re just happy to be here or going to go through the motions.”
As for his future, plenty of smaller college programs have been in contact with Bell, but few “Power 5 programs” have offered.
“Pitt, UCF and some others have been talking to me, but nothing concrete yet,” Bell said.
College coaches told both Pinellas and Lennox that they view Bell as “a tweener” who doesn’t fit in a defined position at the next level. And that aggravates Pinellas.
“’He’s too small for a corner, we’re not sure he can carry the weight to be a linebacker, we’re not sure he has the speed for a corner’ … I’ve been hearing that about Jalen for a couple of years. It’s hard to swallow, because I know how hard this kid works, I know his character, I know what he’s about and I know his heart. Any team who takes a chance on him is going to be rewarded with a football player, a great teammate and a great person. End of discussion.”
Lennox takes it a step further. “The transfer portal is killing opportunities for players like Jalen. When you look at all positions, we’ve had some freakish good athletes play football at Osceola High, and I can honestly tell you Jalen is one of those guys. He’s a great athlete. Instead of renting a portal player for a year or two, I would suggest that any college should sign a guy like Jalen, give him some love and direction and in return you are going to get a great football player for four years, not one or two.”
As for Bell, he takes it the lack of offers and attention in stride. “I want to play football on Saturdays and hopefully someone is going to give me that chance. If they give me that chance, I’ll promise that I’ll take advantage of it.”
Sounds like someone who just needs another chance.
