Five-star Texas Longhorns commit goes off in a big way in 2025 season opener

Rivals' Ian Boyd gave his thoughts on Dia Bell and how he fits in the Texas program.

"Bell is probably the official mark of Texas’ transformation, or maybe we should say Steve Sarkisian‘s transformation, into emphasizing dual-threat abilities at quarterback," Boyd said. "That’s been the growing trend from pro-style coaches at every level. Like other pro-style prospects, Bell isn’t strictly a runner, he can move around to stretch the field vertically and has a very impressive arm he routinely uses to overpower coverage at the high school level.

"He has the passing traits you’d normally expect to see from a Sark quarterback prospect, but he also has wheels and can execute some gun-option to free up the tight ends and boost the run game, thus creating even more opportunities to take shots down the field."

247Sports' Zach Scruggs says this week's game versus Ohio State was a battle off the field way before this one kicks off.

"Bell visited Ohio State four times before announcing his pledge to Texas, and the Buckeyes were very much in consideration finishing somewhere between second and fourth with LSU and Penn State," Scruggs said. "Though Bell did silently commit to the Longhorns after the June 1st Elite Camp in 2024, he did take three more visits to Florida State, Ohio State, and LSU before going public with his Texas commitment on June 17th. Ohio State seemed to be a dark horse as a flip threat for some time, but they've since added a pledge from Luke Fahey and aren't considered much of a threat at all anymore."

Dia Bell and the American Heritage offense struggled early on.

In the first three quarters, Bell was just 6-for-13 for 36 yards and lost fumbles. But, in the fourth quarter, the Patriots offense came alive and stunned SJP on national television. The Texas Longhorns commit and jewel of the 2026 class finished the game completing 20-for-34 for for 231 yards and one touchdown.