Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 80 – Kenny Bell

In his first year at NU, Bell was the Scout Team MVP. Throughout the rest of his career, Bell wore his blue scout team jersey under his pads as a reminder of where he came from, the work he put in, and in tribute to the starting defensive backs who made him a better receiver.

Kenny Bell’s first year on the field (2011) was Nebraska’s first year in the Big Ten Conference. For head coach Bo Pelini, it was a time of adjustment.

Pelini seemed to be figuring out how to win the Big 12 Conference, playing in the conference championship game in 2009 and 2010. But the Big Ten offered a fresh set of challenges. How would Bo’s defensive schemes – which worked pretty well against the explosive offenses of the Big 12 – fare against the “three yards and a cloud of rubber pellets” offenses of the Big Ten? Now that Nebraska was no longer playing at least one game per year in the state of Texas, could he still pull recruits from the Lone Star state?

In 2011, Bell broke out as a redshirt freshman with 32 catches for 461 yards – the second-best receiving season by a freshman in school history (behind Nate Swift in 2005). He also had an 80-yard touchdown run against Minnesota. Wisconsin gave the Huskers a rude welcome to the Big Ten with a 48-17 nationally televised blowout. Michigan would do the same later in the season. Nebraska’s first win as a member of the Big Ten was against Ohio State. After the game, Pelini was recorded – without his knowledge – making derogatory comments about Nebraska fans. That audio would not come out until 2013.

As a sophomore in 2012, Bell set school records for his class in receptions (50), yards (863) and touchdowns (8). Pelini’s 2012 team had one of the more remarkable runs of the 21st century, responding to a blowout loss to Ohio State (Bo’s alma mater) by winning six straight to win the Big Ten Legends division. The cardiac Cornhuskers had comeback wins at Northwestern, Michigan State and Iowa.

The Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin was another embarrassing blowout loss as Nebraska – shorthanded on the defensive line – could not stop the Badgers’ jet sweep. Well after the game was decided, Kenny Bell had one of the most famous and vicious blocks* in Nebraska history.

*At the time, this was a legal block. The so-called “Kenny Bell Rule” went into effect the following season. I will go to my grave upset that he was flagged for it.

In his junior season, Bell continued to make highlight-reel plays. A 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Penn State was critical in an overtime win. A leaping, one-handed circus catch against Illinois. The comeback win at Michigan? It doesn’t happen without Bell’s 26-yard catch on 4th & 2 that gave NU first and goal. NU’s three conference losses (at Minnesota, Michigan State and Iowa) were all by 13 points or more. In the Iowa loss, Pelini – frustrated by a bad call – swung his hat, nearly hitting an official. During his postgame press conference, he dared NU’s administration to fire him. Pelini was retained for 2014.

As a senior in 2014, all Bell did was set (then) school records for career receptions (181) and career yards (2,689), earn All-Big Ten honors, and serve as a team captain. He had two touchdowns in the thrilling regular-season finale against Iowa,* including the game winner in overtime.

*I thought it was exciting. But that win clearly did not impress athletic director Shawn Eichorst, who reminded us that we needed to “evaluate where Iowa was.”  

We’ll get deeper into the Iowa rivalry, the 2014 season, and the end of Pelini’s tenure down the road.  

For all of his sideline volatility and intensity, Pelini’s players absolutely LOVED him. I think this quote, from Kenny Bell, sums up the team’s feelings about their coach:

“I would play for Bo Pelini against Satan himself and a team of demons at the gates of the underworld.”

Any questions?

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In addition to being of the best Huskers of the Bo Pelini era, Kenny Bell was one of the most beloved players of all time. The #80 jersey was a very popular purchase when he was in school. I think all three of my kids owned a #80 Kenny Bell jersey at some point in their childhood. I may have even encouraged my oldest to tease her thick curls into a glorious ‘fro before the 2014 Spring Game.

Speaking of which… let’s be honest with each other:  the first thing we knew about Kenny Bell was his glorious, old-school Afro.  Over his career, we came to know him as a gifted receiver, a tenacious blocker, a team leader, and a vibrant personality willing to speak eloquently and honestly on a wide variety of topics.

But that ‘fro was a thing of beauty.

There was a day in the offseason – and I wish I was making this up – when Bell tweeted about cutting his hair and posted a picture that suggested he had done so. A Lincoln sports talk station discussed it and what it might mean for Bell’s production in the coming season. Bell later posted that it was a gag, and his hair was still intact.

It was a good reminder of quickly things can escalate here in the Husker fishbowl. As well as a good insight into Bell’s good-natured personality.

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I’d also like to mention another former occupant of the #80 jersey.  He played at Nebraska for only one season. He never caught a pass, rushed the ball or made a tackle.  Normally with that bio, most fans would have no idea who he was, especially since he played twenty years ago.

But when I say “Santino Panico,” I’m guessing you know exactly who I’m talking about.

We remember Panico more for his pedestrian punt return performance (22 punt returns for a grand total of 68 yards, and 13 fair catches) than his potential.  I’m no recruitnik, but from his bio, (Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois, Army All-America Bowl, etc.) he sounded like a kid with some talent and promising potential.

I bring Panico not to bash on him, nor to get in a cheap shot at the failed Callahan regime.  Instead, I mention Santino Panico to remind us that sometimes Husker careers don’t turn out the way anybody expects – not the player, the coaches who recruited him, or the fans who can recite a recruiting bio quicker than they recite their own kids’ birthdays.

And while that is disappointing for all parties, I’m guessing it is hardest on the player who couldn’t find the success he hoped and believed he could have.

Especially if his name becomes synonymous with a team’s ineptness years and years after he left.

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