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Dia Bell earns On3 five-star status, ranks as the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2026 On300

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•about 9 hours•

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Dia Bell
Dia Bell at Texas Spring practice. (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Peanut butter and jelly. Steve Sarkisian and five-star quarterbacks. Those things just go together, and Dia Bell is further evidence.

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2026 Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage quarterback and Texas commit Dia Bell was ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect and a five-star recruit in the updated 2026 On300 on Monday.

Bell, who committed to Texas on June 17, 2024, was one of two new On3 five-stars along with Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga EDGE Carter Meadows.

The son of former NBA veteran Raja Bell, Dia was 161-for-228 in 2024 for 2597 yards, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also rushed 67 times for 561 yards and five scores, and had 100-yard rushing games in wins versus Norland and St. Thomas Aquinas.

While at Texas, Sarkisian signed On3’s No. 2 2021 prospect Quinn Ewers out of the portal. Ewers was a five-star and On3’s No. 4 prospect during the 2022 portal cycle. Sarkisian also signed On3’s No. 3 overall prospect Arch Manning in the 2023 cycle.

The full On300 is set to be released at 11 a.m. Central. Texas has two other 2026 commitments in Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek wide receiver Christopher Stewart and Melissa (Texas) offensive lineman Max Wright.

How Bell fits at Texas:

Bell is the son of Raja Bell, a player NBA fans of 2000s Western Conference Playoff series or modern “Ringer” NBA podcasting content will be familiar with. Bell was an ultra athletic defensive specialist who was a key figure on the Steve Nash Phoenix Suns regularly assigned to antagonize and lock down Kobe Bryant. The Suns were 2-0 against the Lakers during that era.

Anyways, Dia (6-foot-3) is a bit smaller than pops (6-foot-5) but is still 190 pounds. He clearly approaches the game of football with a professional mindset, an outstanding privilege available to the sons of professional athletes, and is very advanced in his reads and pocket play for such a young trigger-man. You’ll regularly see him make reads from the pocket on film and deliver the ball with better timing than you often see from someone with a big arm at most any age, certainly as a sophomore. His ability to read defenders’ leverage and throw strikes on time is only going to improve with the coming seasons. Bell has the athleticism to move around and be a factor in the run game, but he’s not developing his game in that fashion, he’s developing to be the sort of pocket passer who wants to burn teams down the field who’d be a clear fit in Steve Sarkisian‘s offense. – Ian Boyd

Coach Says:

Strengths — Good height for the position and will definitely grow some more. Quick twitch and athleticism jumps off the screen. Takeaway steps are smooth. Ball carriage is appropriate. Gets to the top of his drop under balance, with a good base and with his hips and shoulders facing his target. Has a natural feel for the pocket and will sidestep and climb the pocket easily with his eyes upfield. Agility and acceleration are very good and he extends plays easily buying himself just enough space and angles to deliver the football. His throwing motion is effortless and mostly three quarters, finishing with a good snap of the wrist falling to his opposite hip. Ball jumps out of his hand with great rotation and velocity. Shows good anticipation and strength to push the ball downfield. Has at least one deep out to the field on tape. As a runner, he’s quite elusive with the athleticism noted above.

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Areas for Improvement — Offense looks like it’s mostly half-field or pre snap reads. Will get on his toes at times. Weight transfer inconsistent. 

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