Countdown to Kickoff: No. 36
William Bell
The countdown to kickoff is officially on as Georgia Tech‘s season-opening matchup at Colorado on Aug. 29 is less than 100 days away.
Until then JOL will be counting it down with one Jackets’ player daily that wore the corresponding number of days remaining until toe meets leather in Boulder.
With it now 36 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 36 William Bell, who played running back on The Flats from 1989-1993, including being the leading rusher on the Jackets’ 1990 national championship team.
Bell saw limited playing time his first season at Tech in 1989 with just 102 yards on 17 carries but rose up the depth chart prior to the Jackets’ magical 1990 season to claim the top spot in the backfield. He went on to rush for 891 yards on 161 attempts that season with five touchdowns and added 13 receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a short TD reception in Tech’s convincing 45-21 victory over Nebraska in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Bell is also well known for appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated in November of 1990 following the Jackets’ dramatic 41-38 win at then No. 1 Virginia.
Bell didn’t play during the 1991 season but returned to the field in 1992 when he saw action in nine games and rushed for 281 yards and two touchdowns. He got back to full form during his final season on The Flats in 1993 when he split carries in the backfield with teammate Dorsey Levens. Bell led in attempts with 166 for 752 yards while Levens led in yardage with 823 yards on 114 carries. Bell finished with seven touchdowns rushing. He is one of only 15 players in Georgia Tech program history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in his career.
Bell went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft but later signed with the Washington Redskins where he played running back and fullback over three season from 1994-1996. He played in 39 games during his pro career, mostly on special teams as he had 18 career kick returns for 294 total yards. He added 13 rushing yards on four attempts and 23 receiving yards on three receptions on offense.
After his playing career, Bell transitioned over to coaching and served at Edward Waters College in a variety of roles over multiple seasons, including wide receivers/special teams coordinator, running backs/special teams coordinator and eventually interim head coach in 2010. He later served as running backs coach at Savannah State.
Honorable Mention
–Charles Wiley (running back from 1995-1998, finished with 1,431 career rushing yards, 266 career receiving yards and 19 career touchdowns,
–Mark Hogan (defensive back from 1982-1985, starting safety on 1985 team and finished that season with two interceptions)
