FAYETTEVILLE — Jamario Bell often stood head and shoulders above his competition in south Arkansas at Junction City High School.
Bell, who grew to become a four-star prospect and top-20 defensive end nationally by various recruiting services, capped his prep career in style, leading the Dragons, perennial title contenders in Arkansas’ smallest football-playing classification, to three consecutive state championships from 2012-14.
Junction City shut out six opponents - winning those six games by a combined score of 322-0 - en route to a perfect 13-0 season in 2014, and Bell did his fair share of damage. He finished with 76 tackles, 12 for lost yardage, and seven sacks.
For good measure, Bell also caught a pair of touchdown passes that season.
Over his final three seasons at Junction City, Bell won his final 40 games, according to the FearlessFriday.com database.
As one of the most physically gifted high school prospects in Arkansas, Jamario Bell won three state championships at Junction City.
Since arriving at Arkansas in 2015, his journey has not been as seamless - far from it. As a freshman, he was asked to move from defensive end to tight end in spring practices and eventually redshirted. The following spring, he transitioned from tight end to linebacker and did not see the field during the Razorbacks’ 7-6 season that ended with an embarrassing loss to Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl.
Then, in 2017, a foot injury in fall camp kept him out of the lineup for the first 10 weeks of the season, and he played only on special teams in the final two games of the year.
But after a fairly productive 2018 (20 tackles), Bell geared up for one final run at Arkansas this spring and, five games into his senior season, he is finally beginning to see the fruits of his labor and make impact plays for John Chavis’ defense.
“I really did come into this season knowing that this is my last season,” said Bell, listed as a second-team defensive end behind senior Gabe Richardson. “(I know) that I really have to go ahead and just pick it up and make sure that I do everything I can to make sure at the end of the day I can say I did everything I could.”
Despite missing Arkansas’ conference opener at Ole Miss and the home win over Colorado State, the senior ranks top five in the SEC with 3.5 sacks - 1.5 behind Missouri's Kobie Whiteside for the league lead. After returning three weeks ago from a left knee injury that has required him to wear a bulky brace, Bell has recorded a team-high four tackles for loss and three sacks, including two of Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond.
Razorbacks defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell has been particularly proud of Bell’s play. His constant straining at the line of scrimmage has led to his sudden success. Against the Aggies, Bell tallied what the coach calls a "dirty sack."
“He kept after it,” Caldwell said. “The first one he got, they flushed (Mond) out of the pocket, and Jamario runs well enough that he was able to make the play. Basically the same thing on the second one. He came off the edge and just kept pressing the tackle and was able to rip off of him - just staying after it.
“It was good to have him back on the field to start with, and obviously it was his most productive game that he’s had I think since he’s been here, most likely. He’s still not full speed. Looking forward to getting him back in practice and getting him in better shape and just see if we can progress from what we accomplished (against Texas A&M).”
Chavis, Arkansas' second-year defensive coordinator, said Monday in his pre-Kentucky press conference that he is excited by Bell's productivity and that the unit missed his pass-rushing presence against the Rebels and Rams.
“He's hopefully going to be a little bit better this week," Chavis added. "He brings a lot to the table in terms of experience and he's a very good competitor. It was good to see him back.”
Prior to this season, Bell did not have a sack to his name, but it appears he has set out to make up for lost time. Asked about his good fortune in getting to the quarterback, Bell noted that his goal is to finish empty and leave everything on the field.
“Just hard work, relentless effort,” added Bell, who has an old-school Razorbacks logo tattooed on his right leg. “I'm doing all the little things coach Caldwell always talks about. … The offseason really helped me just coming in and working with (strength and conditioning) coach Tru (Carroll) and his staff. I'm giving everything I have.”
Bell's growth has been obvious to Arkansas' coaching staff, and it's not lost on senior defensive tackle McTelvin Agim either. He has enjoyed seeing the joy and happiness in Bell's eyes after making a big play.
“He's getting off the ball and he's making plays. You see when he's in there he's running his stunts correctly," Agim said. "He knows exactly what to do when it's time to do it. ... It’s been fun for him and Gabe. It’s great seeing them play like that, man, because it turns me up when they’re hitting the quarterbacks, making sacks and creating fumbles."
Through all of his position changes, injuries, a lack of playing time and even a coaching change, Bell hasn't lost his passion for the game. He is playing with a purpose, and never has that been more evident than this fall.
“I felt like every time I got on a good hot streak to get myself going just a small thing set me back,” he said. “But God is still with me and I’m still here now.”