Normally, this article would be a question-and-answer piece, but not with Elijah Bell. That’s because there’s too much say about him that he doesn’t need to say. And he won’t say those things anyway.
He won’t tell us about feeling unchained from the perils of common-day life because he’s that one rung away. Elijah won’t even admit his every dream could come true this upcoming weekend because of special skills and terrific talent. He’s been told he’ll be a player picked during the NFL Draft, but until it happens, it hasn’t happened.
To Elijah, it’s not about playing a game for a living, and that’s because of the hard work nearly no one ever sees. Playing sports takes its toll, too, and that’s why athletes have a “prime” and why most are eventually referred to as “washed up” when they surpass their mid-30s. It’s a small window profession athletes have, especially when it comes to football.
Elijah is 21 years old, and he is in the best shape of his life thanks to a two-month training period in California and his work outs with future OVAC Hall of Famer Daryl “Boogie” Johnson. Bell set every important receiving record at North Carolina A&T, and yes, he is an NFL prospect. He has an agent who has been told him COULD be drafted between the fourth and seventh rounds.
And that’s OK with this young man. An all-stater for Wheeling Park High and an integral part of the Patriots’ 2015 W.Va. Class AAA championship, Bell realizes it’s all about getting the chance to prove himself on the next level. Fans of the Steelers likely realize that John Stallworth was a prospect out of Alabama A&M, and he ended up wearing four Super Bowl rings during his 2002 induction to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
OK, you want a question? Sure.
How do you feel about your chances to get drafted during the NFL Draft?
“I just want a chance,” he told me during an interview on The Watchdog. “If I get there, I believe I can prove I belong there.”
Another? OK.
If you establish yourself in the NFL, will you continue living in Wheeling, W.Va.?
I will always live in Wheeling. People raised me here, and I hope I am able to give back to this community that has supported me. I love the valley. It’s home.
The NFL Draft will take place later this week, and the process will be virtual instead of all the on-stage hoopla in New York City but will be televised as well. The wide receiver will be with his family while watching the process with all hoping and praying to hear those two words. “Elijah Bell.”
Do you know what you will do if you actually hear your name?
Drop my head and thank God.
