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Serving his country was something Campolindo senior lineman Jelani Matai Bell always envisioned.
Bell’s family has been around the military for as long as he can remember. His grandparents on both sides – and beyond – have been in the military.
So, it was only natural Bell did the same.
And that is just what Bell will do, as he will continue his athletic career at West Point in the fall, choosing Army over offers from Northern Arizona, Sacramento State and Wyoming.
“I always did value that military life,” Bell said. “I wanted to see how it would go for me, and also I just love the competition they have. I just love the intensity that they show on and off the field. I could see myself becoming just a military officer after I’m done with West Point.”
Finding this type of success was something Bell – and many others – always saw out of him.
When Bell first began playing football, he just saw it more as a sport. But, as time rolled on and he reached the eighth grade and then high school years, Bell’s future began to take shape.
“Other people saw it in me,” Bell said. “I think once the first coach reached out to me I knew I could actually do something with this sport and that it could bring me to the Division I level.”