David Bell likes to kill ‘em softly.
Brash. Demonstrative. Egotistical. Selfish. The Purdue sophomore is none of those things that often describe the personality of a big-time receiver.
Rather, Bell is soft-spoken. He’s humble. He’s reticent. He speaks in hushed tones. You have to listen intently when speaking to Purdue's star receiver. Pay attention to what he says … then watch him speak loudly on the field.
Bell season-opening salvo on Saturday was heard loud and clear. In the Boilermakers’ 24-20 victory vs. Iowa, Bell was targeted a whopping 21 times and shredded the Hawkeyes for 13 catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns, the last of which came was the game-winner with 2:15 left from 6 yards out.
"The guy makes plays," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said this week. "He catches the ball in traffic and it’s just something that comes very natural to him. He has a knack for always catching the ball.
"He was targeted quite a bit and he came through and did a very good job once again. "He’s one of those guys that doesn’t talk a whole lot. He doesn’t brag and bring that to his game. He’s all about business. He’s a great teammate."
Bell's effort last Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium earned him co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.
"I always have been a type of person just to let the game come to me," said Bell after practice on Tuesday. "I think when you try to force stuff, it tends not to go your way. So I just go with the flow, and then if Aidan (O'Connell) decides to target me however many times he targets me, I would just step up. ... "
Dating back to last season, it was Bell’s fourth consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving. He has seven such games in his career young career. In two career games vs. the Hawkeyes, the 6-2, 205-pound Bell has made 26 receptions for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was impressed.
"In my opinion, he's one of the best receivers we've faced in 21-plus years," said Ferentz after playing Purdue. "He gave us a hard time last year and the same thing again today. He's really tough to cover."
O’Connell already knows all about the skill-set of Bell.
“He’s a special player,” O’Connell said after the win on Saturday. “He’s a quarterback’s dream. We’re really lucky to have him.”
What would this offense be like if Bell played for an extended stretch with Rondale Moore, who missed the Iowa game for an “undisclosed” reason? The duo only played four games together last year before Moore was lost for the season with a hamstring injury. Bell also dealt with a shoulder injury early last year, too, the required offseason surgery. Could the tandem be on the field this Saturday at Illinois?
“We're always hopeful and we'll see what happens during the week,” said Brohm. “ … Whenever he's ready to play, he will play.”
With Moore out, fellow sophomore Milton Wright took a step up in the opener. And, it didn’t go unnoticed .
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“I do think the emergence of Milton Wright (seven catches for 85 yards vs. Iowa) in the game was great to see,” said Brohm, who had to watch the Iowa game from home while in isolation. “To me it was noticeable on TV that, hey, this guy is a very good player. He had great get-off and got open on routes and made strong catches and got the ball and got north and south, took a couple big hits, came back and played.
“I think without having Rondale, having Milton Wright step up and make plays was crucial and critical to spread the wealth a little bit."
For now, Bell will carry on as the team’s offensive lynchpin. He arrived in West Lafayette amid great hype and fanfare as a four-star recruit from Warren Central High in Indianapolis. What does Bell do best?
"Catch the football," said receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard, who fesses it's tough to come up with just one thing Bell does best. "I mean, that's just what he does. There's opportunities to catch it, he pretty much comes down with it. He is a fierce competitor. I can say all kinds of great things ... "
Bell showed what the fuss was about last year as a true freshman, when he tied for the Big Ten lead with 86 receptions for 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, first-team Associated Press Freshman All-American and honorable mention All-Big Ten. To top it off, he was named Big Ten Freshman on the Week a school-record-tying four times.
“Well, I think he's known what's going on for a long time now,” said Brohm. “He's a very talented receiver. You know, he works extremely hard, and while he was productive in year one, which he for sure was, he had a few injuries that he had to play through. He found a way to get even better as the year went on.
“I think this past offseason, he wanted to work hard at finding ways to create maybe a little more separation, finding ways to get off the line of scrimmage and gain some more separation from defensive backs when he's running his routes, and I think he has done a very good job of that.”
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