2026 No. 1 QB Dia Bell visits Texas as possible commitment looms
Signing Day is more than 20 months away for Class of 2026 prospects, but Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage four-star quarterback Dia Bell is off and running in his recruitment.
The nation’s top junior signal-caller is in the midst of a slate of visits that includes Miami, LSU, Texas, Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, Auburn, and North Carolina during the months of March and April.
On Tuesday, Bell — who is the son of former NBA standout Raja Bell — was on hand during Texas’ spring practices, with the Longhorns hosting him for the second time as a recruit.
Earlier this month, he broke down his visits with On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons and said these trips will be key as he looks to take the next steps in his recruitment.
“I feel like they’re really important,” Bell told On3 about his upcoming trips. “With these visits at the back end of my sophomore year, it’s going to be very intentional what I’m looking at with these schools. What I’m looking at with these schools is how they coach their quarterbacks, how they go about preparing them for games on Saturdays and ultimately, how they prepare them for the NFL. These are things I’m looking forward to seeing from these schools.”
Commitment will come when he has that ‘gut’ feeling
Not many signal-callers in the 2026 class are pledged to a school at this time. But with some quarterback recruits locking in their spots with schools early on, Bell has considered an early commitment.
He is discussing a timeline with his parents and is looking at multiple options — including announcing his college destination in the next few months.
“I feel like it’s a gut feeling,” Bell said. “Some relationships might stand out more than others. These visits are definitely going to play a big role in where I’m going to pick to go to school. On a visit, if it happens, who knows? It could happen on one of my visits coming up. It’s ultimately a gut feeling.”
There is still a long time remaining in Bell’s overall recruitment. Yet the four-star already knows what he wants in a program.
“I’d like to find a school that is a good fit for me,” Bell said. “I want to feel like I’ve built a relationship with the coaching staff to the point where I feel like that’s the place I feel most comfortable and the place that would be a second home for me. The stuff around football matters too. Academics has always been prioritized in our household. That’s something else I’m looking forward to seeing at these schools.”
Bell talks Florida, LSU, Miami and Penn State
Florida: “Florida’s got great academics at their school. They have (head) coach Billy Napier, who’s trying to rebuild the offense with (offensive analyst Ryan) O’Hara. They are great people and I have great relationships with them.”
LSU: “I’ve been building a relationship with LSU for quite a long time now. It’s been kind of behind-the-scenes and I got the offer more recently. I have a great relationship with (quarterbacks) coach (Joe) Sloan there and he just got the OC job. I’m excited to see what he does.”
Miami: “I have a great relationship with (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) coach (Shannon) Dawson. I’ve started building my relationship this year with (head) coach (Mario) Cristobal too. Miami is close to home and I like what the program is doing.”
Penn State: “Since it’s farther away from Florida and Miami, I make sure I contact them frequently over the phone, figure out what’s going on and keep building that relationship with them. Over time, it’s just grown and grown.”
“I talk to (offensive coordinator Andy) Kotelnicki, (quarterbacks) coach (Danny) O’Brien and (head) coach (James) Franklin as well,” he added.