Four Star wide receiver Phillip Bell always intended to announce his decision on August 31st, during a yacht party to celebrate his and his mother’s birthday. Sadly, she passed away earlier this summer, but Bell will bravely continue on with the plan, but now to honor his late mother.
“My mom and I were going to celebrate her 40th birthday on the water at a yacht party on Aug. 31 and I was going to commit,” Bell told On3. “That will still happen. She was part of this process with me. She went on the visits, she felt the same way about the schools as I did and I will commit and honor my mom on Aug. 31.”
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Mission Viejo resident, has narrowed his search down to just four schools: USC Trojans, Ohio State, Georgia, and Washington.
Bell Names USC Trojans His Dream Team
“I have gone back and forth with schools for a while. Early on, USC was the dream school. I had them on top of my list. Tennessee was up there at one time. When Ohio State offered and I visited, I liked them a lot. Then I took the official visits to all the schools, so it was a very difficult decision.”
According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Ohio State leads the way, giving the Buckeyes an 83.6 percent chance of landing the 19th nationally-ranked pass catcher. The USC Trojans are in a distant second with just a 4.1 percent chance.
Last season, with the Mission Viejo Diablos, Bell caught 56 passes for 644 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games.
“My mind is made up,” Bell told On3. “The main things for me throughout my whole recruitment stayed the same. They were development, a place I know I can be happy at every day and the place that I feel can help get me to where I want to be. That is what my decision came down to.”
