Goleman’s Darryl Bell III is the Miami-Dade 7A-4A Defensive Player of the Year

A historic season for Goleman can trace its roots back to four years ago, when Darryl Bell III first stepped onto the field for the Gators.

Even as a freshman, Bell was clearly bound to be something special—especially for a school like Goleman, which hadn’t won a postseason game since 2004.

For four years, Bell stuck with the Gators and helped them end their long drought by guiding Goleman to its first postseason win in more than 20 years as a senior. After four spectacular seasons in Miami Lakes, Bell is the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Football Defensive Player of the Year for Classes 7A-4A.

A four-star safety in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2026, Bell did everything for the Gators on both sides of the ball. As a strong safety on defense, Bell logged 50 tackles, eight tackles loss, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns. As a wide receiver on offense, Bell had 38 catches for 658 yards and seven touchdowns, ran for 99 yards and a touchdown, and even threw a touchdown pass. The 6-foot, 192-pound athlete also returned a punt for a touchdown to chip in on special teams.

The defensive back is already at Florida State—another rare accomplishment for Goleman, which has seldom sent players to schools in the Power Four conferences.

Bell first committed to the Seminoles back in 2023 and stuck by his commitment all the way up until the early signing period last month—unsurprising, perhaps, given his loyalty to the Gators throughout high school.

At Goleman, Bell’s loyalty paid dividends. He helped the Gators beat South Dade in the first round of the Region 4-7A playoffs for their first postseason win in more than two decades and then helped them score a second-round win against Spanish River to propel Goleman into the region finals for the first time.

In his final season with the Gators, Bell helped Goleman win twice as many playoff games as the school had in its entire history. Unsurprisingly, Bell played an important role in both wins, scoring a pair of two-point conversions in the Gators’ two-point first-round win against the Buccaneers and returning an interception 98 yards for a touchdown in Round 2 against the Sharks. Although Goleman’s historic run fell short against Palmetto in the 4-7A championship, Bell still had 92 receiving yards.

Above all else, he gave the Gators belief and helped them build from a perennial also-ran into one of the better teams in Dade County.