Former WVU Basketball Player Jimmy Bell Signs NFL Deal

A former Mountaineer has taken an unusual route to the pros, as former WVU basketball player Jimmy Bell has signed a deal with an NFL team.

Bell, a two-way standout on the hardwood and gridiron in high school, signed with the LA Chargers on Saturday following the 2025 NFL Draft. Bell played one season in Morgantown under former coach Bob Huggins, posting 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 34 games in 2022-23.

Nothing but GOD 🙏🏾❤️ thank you @chargers for an opportunity to show the world !!! I PROMISE YOU YOU WONT REGRET IT ‼️‼️‼️🤞🏾 https://t.co/beTigTTSh2

— TUNK🖤 (@JimmyBellJr15) April 27, 2025

Not only does Bell have the size to play football at 6-foot-9 and 330 pounds, but he was also a three-star offensive line prospect coming out of Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Mich. He went to prep school for a year to focus solely on basketball before beginning his college career at St. Louis in 2019.

After two years at St. Louis, Bell transferred to WVU, where he first tested the waters on making a return to football. Bell joined the WVU football team for spring practices in 2023, culminating in an appearance in that year’s Gold-Blue Spring Game.

“What I do like about him is that he’s extremely coachable,” then-WVU football coach Neal Brown said of Bell. “(Huggins) says he was and he definitely is. He works hard. I think he’s had an open mind on this and I went into it with zero expectations.”

Bell was only listed at 285 pounds when he was playing for WVU but even then had the kind of size football teams dream about.

“The biggest difference is we use our hands in this game,” Brown said. “(Offensive line) coach (Matt) Moore, I’ve heard him say this multiple times this week, you’re not fouling out. There ain’t no foul outs in this game. So just him getting used to punching and the importance of ball get off.”

Bell didn’t stick with the football team and ultimately transferred to Mississippi State for his senior basketball season. Bell averaged 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 35 games for the Bulldogs, but the draw to football apparently never went away. Like at WVU, Bell worked with the MSU football team during their spring practices following the basketball season.

After exhausting his football eligibility, Bell went back into the transfer portal, this time looking for a football team to join, as he had one year of football eligibility remaining. No team took Bell in as a football transfer but he clearly didn’t give up the dream as he was able to catch the Charger’s attention and earn an NFL shot.

Basketball players have been able to make the transition to a productive NFL player in the past — notably Antonio Gates with the Chargers — but it has almost always been at a skill position, receiver or tight end. Making it work on the offensive line would be a very rare accomplishment for Bell.

Find more coverage of Jimmy Bell at WV Sports Now.