After big adjustments in Year 1 at UM, 6-9 Markel Bell ready for big role with Hurricanes
Markel Bell is a big man. At 6-9 and about 350 pounds, the offensive lineman towers over all of his Miami Hurricanes teammates.
Bell also had to make some big adjustments during his first season with Miami last year. He transferred in from Holmes Community College in Mississippi and quickly learned the game goes up another level when playing in a Power Four conference in the ACC compared to a junior college.
“Everything’s much faster,” Bell said. “And you’re going against guys that are not coming out of high school. You’re going against guys that are also well-coached and have the same resources as you, so you really have to be on your A-game. You have to be technically sound, no matter how big, how fast, how small. You have to be really technically sound.”
Bell held his own and then some.
After initially starting the season as a reserve, Bell found himself as Miami’s starting left tackle for five weeks early in the season when starter Jalen Rivers was sidelined with an injury. And even when Rivers returned, the Hurricanes still found ways to get Bell reps on game day by occasionally sliding Rivers to left guard so Bell could continue playing at left tackle.
Those reps are beyond beneficial now that Bell is slated to move into a big-time role as Miami’s full-time starting left tackle in 2025 as Rivers’ successor.
“I would most definitely say that the reps that I did get last year, it was very impactful,” Bell said. “I took advantage of any rep that I did get, and I’m so grateful that I did get those reps because now it’s setting me up for me taking on this new job that I have as the starting left tackle.”
Bell’s extensive playing time last season — he played 544 snaps last season, according to offensive line coach Alex Mirabal — has him poised to enter the 2025 season with the knowledge of what it takes to be a quality offensive lineman.
Mirabal said Bell’s improvement is “night and day” compared to where he was at this point last spring when he first arrived on campus.
“At first, it was always, ‘Wow, he’s big.’ Yeah, no doubt. He’s 6-9,” Mirabal said, “but now he’s starting to play where now people are talking about his level of play. People are talking about his technique and not just the fact that he’s 6-9. He’s a darn good football player who happens to be 6-foot-9.”
Mirabal called Bell’s size a blessing and a curse because “he’s got to work his tail off when he’s 6-0 to play like he’s 6-3 and 6-4.”
For Bell, his priority has been improving his mobility and flexibility to take full advantage of his size.
“I think now he’s really comfortable at using his length and playing with balance and body control,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “He has natural power, plays with natural leverage.”
He also took full advantage of learning from Rivers, who is expected to hear his name called during next month’s NFL Draft.
The biggest thing he learned from Rivers?
“Being patient and trusting your technique,” Bell said, “because we practice for two hours a day, and all those hours build up. ... After you practice all throughout the week, when you get to the game, it’s like, you should just get out there and trust your technique.”
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