2026 Dia Bell breaks down Notre Dame interest, recruitment
Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage’s Dia Bell has yet to play a down as a high school sophomore, but he started picking up offers back in January and is on the national radar. The 6-1, 185-pounder looks to be one of the best quarterbacks in the 2026 class.
“It’s cool to see colleges are taking notice of me, and I’m able to showcase my talents at these camps,” Bell said to Blue & Gold. “I’m always keeping the main focus of the standard of winning state championships.”
Bell currently holds scholarship offers from Florida, Florida International, Penn State, BYU, Western Michigan, Western Carolina, Campbell, Miami and West Virginia. While he is more focused on his sophomore campaign that begins next weekend, he still has to give some thought about the recruiting process even though it’s so early for him.
“When I go out to visits, that’s when I get the most interactions with coaches,” he noted.
Bell hasn’t picked up an offer from Notre Dame yet, but the Fighting Irish staff is closely evaluating him. He was in South Bend last fall for the Clemson game and returned in June.
“I’ve always heard about the school and how prestigious it is,” Bell added. “It’s been great vibes with Notre Dame and being able to come back was great.”
Bell, the son of 12-year NBA veteran Raja Bell, worked out at Notre Dame’s Irish Invasion camp a couple months ago.
“It was great meeting Coach [Gino] Guidugli for the first time and working with him was a pleasure,” noted Bell. “I can’t wait to get back up there and work with him more. That was a really cool camp; I felt like it was one of my better camps this summer.”
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One of the offers Bell picked up over the summer was from Florida after impressing the Gators’ staff when he camped there. It’s his first SEC offer.
“That was very exciting,” Bell said. “That was the first time I took my grandpa — who played college football at Morehouse — to a camp with me. He watched me work that day and saw me get the offer. It was a great experience. That was my second visit there. I have nothing but great feedback from those coaches, and I can’t wait to go back up there, too.”
At the end of July, Bell visited Penn State and West Virginia and picked up an offer from the Nittany Lions.
Bell has a bye the weekend of Sept. 23 and wants to get out to Notre Dame for the Ohio State game. Florida, Florida State and Miami are on his mind for potential game day trips as well.
