WSU back Joique Bell eager to prove he's NFL-worthy
Vincent Goodwill / The Detroit News
Link to Detroit News Article
Wayne State senior Joique Bell always has been about proving people wrong.
His potential path to the NFL could be the best example yet.
Bell is in California preparing for next Saturday's Senior Bowl and the upcoming NFL combine. He's been running the mountains and through the sand dunes. He's heard the detractors say that he's not fast enough, so he feels he's in the perfect setting. Where most players' NFL audition is their senior season, Bell has two chances to prove his worth.
Bell owns virtually every Wayne State rushing record, but has been discounted by most observers because he played in Division II. He admits he had fears about his NFL potential as a freshman, but a quick conversation with a Detroit Lions scout cleared up any trepidation.
"I was working as security there (at Ford Field) one summer, so I asked him," Bell said. "He told me, 'If you have talent, they'll find you.' "
Those words inspired Bell. From there, he said, he never missed a practice, never cheated on even the most tedious of drills.
Tennessee wide receiver Nate Washington (Tiffin) and San Diego receiver Vincent Jackson (Northern Colorado) are recent examples of D-II players who have not only made it to the NFL but thrived there. Bell, the Harlon Hill winner as the best player in Division II, hopes to follow in those footsteps.
Bell, from Benton Harbor, said he had to prove himself to those who didn't think he was good enough to play at Wayne State, let alone Michigan or Michigan State.
"I always play with a chip on my shoulder. I played this whole season like that," he said. "I've been doing this my whole life, whistle-to-whistle. We'll see."
Currently, he's ranked as the No. 8 running back, behind the likes of Southern California's Joe McKnight and Clemson's C.J. Spiller. At 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds, size isn't an issue. With a good showing at the Senior Bowl and NFL combine, he can elevate himself from the sixth or seventh-round slot at which he's projected.
"They say that, but why can't I go second round?" Bell said. "These are the questions I've been asking myself."
Because of the unconventional route Bell is taking to a pro football career, he feels he has to carry himself with more swagger than his counterparts. They have a name; Bell feels he's virtually anonymous.
Therefore, he must do more. He goes full-speed where most would give it the home-run trot, because Bell would deem anything less unacceptable.
On a two-point conversion, Indianapolis defensive back J.T. Owens stepped in front of Bell, picked off a pass and headed toward the end zone. Bell was 20 yards behind Owens but caught up with him to make the tackle, saving two points.
"As far as showing my passion and determination, that would be the play I'd show," he said. "I'd use that play to define my character."
Bell doesn't lean on his career total of 6,728 rushing yards or 88 career rushing touchdowns to make his case. The chance, he said, to go against the best, without pedigree or favoritism, is all he wants.
"I should be top five, hopefully I'll go to the Senior Bowl as well as the combine, and they'll say, 'He's a great athlete,' " Bell said.
So come draft time, he'll be nervous, simply because for the first time, he'll be experiencing something he has no control over.
"As for now, I'm just anxious," he said.
"I've hit first, second and third, now I'm headed home."