Browns' Bell is the real deal
By Carlos "Big C" HolmesDayton Daily News/Cox News Service
05/27/2008
When the Cleveland Browns moved up to select UNLV LB Beau Bell with the team's first pick in the fourth-round of the draft, fans weren't quite sure what the team was getting.
There are mixed feelings about the pick, but for those fans who are still in the dark to the type of player Bell is, I turned to Perfect Competition, Inc. Founder and CEO Sean O'Brien to shed some light on the subject.
O'Brien spent several months with Bell, who trained at Perfect Competition leading up to the draft and knows the player well. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound linebacker went there to work on his overall football skills and worked his buns off looking to impress NFL scouts.
"Beau was brought into the program early in the draft process," O'Brien said. "He spent very little time with his family during the winter holidays and spent New Year's Day training preparing for the Senior Bowl. He's a very dedicated individual and believes in hard work."
According O'Brien, Bell did a huge amount of work over the course of time between his final game and the draft — more so than any other athlete in the program.
Things were going along just fine until Bell suffered a knee injury during Day 2 of practice at the Senior Bowl. However, that didn't stop him from making an impression on teams in Mobile.
Many had anticipated Bell going higher in the draft, but still recovering from the knee injury a month later and unable to perform at a high-level during the Scouting Combine, caused his stock to tumble a bit.
"The Browns got themselves a great player and Beau will out perform the location where he was drafted," O'Brien said. "Beau is a very powerful athlete and an imposing football player. Among the linebackers entering the draft, he was probably the most physical in that category."
Bottom line: the Browns got a steal.
O'Brien summed the linebacker up in the nutshell: "Beau is a football player that loves to play the game. He's very humble and energetic. He will make the coaching staff in Cleveland very happy."