Dillon Bell has latest breakthrough in strong start to Georgia career
Dillon Bell has been one of the more talked about freshmen on Georgia’s roster. That’s all the more impressive considering he’s a part of the nation’s No. 3-ranked recruiting class from 2022.
Bell, a wide receiver out of The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas, caught his first career touchdown pass on Saturday in Georgia’s 33-0 win over Samford. It was Georgia’s only receiving touchdown on the day. Bell finished the game with three catches, tied for second on the team, and 22 yards, the latest feather in his cap to what has been a strong start to his collegiate career.
“I don’t think it was about a touchdown. He’s got to go out there and play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said when about Bell and the importance of him scoring the touchdown “AD (Mitchell) being out allowed him to play a little more, and Jackson (Meeks) to play a little more. He gave us a little more confidence. De’Nylon (Morrissette) is a guy who’s had a really good week of practice, but he didn’t get all that stuff in camp that Dillon got. So we need those two guys, and CJ (Smith), to grow up, we need Arian (Smith) back. There’s guys there we’ve got to get to be able to stretch the field vertically to have a complete offense.”
Smart wasn’t the only one asked about Bell and his big day. Fellow wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint was one of the first to meet Bell after the score. He was just as excited for the freshman as the freshman was for himself.
“You see me? I was the first one there. I was the first one there in front of him when he scored,” Rosemy-Jacksaint said. “Man, he’s been working. He’s a great player, got great hands, a great worker. He came in working. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. I know he’ll be a great player here, and I just can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.”
“Since he first got here in the summer, I looked at him and said he’s going to be a problem,” Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon added after being asked if Bell has given the Bulldogs any trouble in practice. “He’s a hard worker. I feel like he’s going to be real good.”
Bell will still need to get better. Kirby Smart said so himself. Still, with limited depth in the wide receiver room, guys like Bell – along with fellow freshmen De’Nylon Morrissette and CJ Smith and sophomore Jackson Meeks – are going to have to give Georgia a boost in the position group.
“Those guys have done a good job in practice,” Smart said about Bell as well as Jackson Meeks. “They continue to improve. We’ve got to continue to grow that room and get some depth and some guys that can go play for us.”
