Texas lands grand prize 2026 5-Star QB Dia Bell

On3's Hayes Fawcett reported on June 17 that five-star Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage 2026 quarterback Dia Bell committed to Texas football. Bell committed to Texas over offers from the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, LSU Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers, and Alabama Crimson Tide, among many other P5 schools.

Texas football lands priority 5-Star 2026 QB Dia Bell to jump start that class on offense

Bell's commitment to the Longhorns comes a few weeks after he made an unofficial visit to Texas for the Elite Camp on June 1. He threw in front of head coach Steve Sarkisian and QB coach AJ Milwee, along with fellow 2026 Texas QB offer, California four-star Troy Huhn.

The son of longtime NBA player Raja Bell, Dia is familiar with the bright spotlight that comes with being a star recruit for a major collegiate sport. He had interest and an offer from almost every top college football program, which makes sense since he's one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation in the 2026 class.

Sarkisian keeps on stacking elite quarterback talent on the recruiting trail class-after-class. Texas has now landed a blue-chip quarterback recruit in every full recruiting cycle Sarkisian has been the head coach (since the 2022 class).

The Longhorns QB room will continue to have elite talent in the mix, including four-star 2025 quarterback commit KJ Lacey and now Bell.

Texas has made it a trend to get a quarterback commitment in place for each cycle during or just after June visits. Sarkisian and the Longhorns landed Lacey as their first commitment in the 2025 class on the weekend of the Elite Camp last offseason.

Bell committed to Texas in the 2026 class just a few weeks after the Elite Camp early this summer.

Arch Manning also committed to the Longhorns as the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the nation in the 2023 class in the 247Sports Composite in June 2022.

Bell gives Texas an athletic playmaker with a big arm at QB

The 6-foot-3 and 190-pound quarterback from Florida possesses an elite blend of athleticism and arm strength. While Bell is accustomed to standing in the pocket and picking apart secondaries with his strong arm and pinpoint throws all over the field, he is not your traditional pro-style quarterback.

When standing back in the pocket, Bell shows good patience, footwork, timing, and touch on his throws. He's good at reading the safeties' eyes and finding his targets in stride and in tight windows.

In his first year as a starting quarterback at American Heritage High School in Florida, Bell has already shown the maturity and patience to go through his progressions and make the proper throw to his targets in the passing game.

Sarkisian has to be thrilled about getting a quarterback with the arm talent to make all the throws like Bell can. He has the arm strength and touch on the ball to consistently connect with his receivers over the top on the deep ball.

The instincts and awareness Bell has allows him to quickly go through his reads and make the right play in the RPO system too.

Bell also possesses the ability to make throws on the run and make plays with his legs when the pocket breaks down. Like Lacey, Bell can make those impressive off-platform throws and create positive plays off-schedule through the air and while scrambling outside of the pocket.

While Bell doesn't fit that traditional pocket-passer mould that Sarkisian likes to have running his offenses, he does have many attributes that can take Texas's offense to another level. Playmaking quarterbacks who can make those difficult off-platform throws and make plays on the run are a sign of the next evolution of Sarkisian's offensive gameplan.

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