18 Days Till Arizona Football: Remembering Former UA WR

The countdown continues as we are now officially 18 days away from the season opener for Arizona against Hawaii. Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season for the Wildcats.

We continue with former Arizona WR Theopolis "T" Bell who played with the Wildcats from 1972-75.

Bell earned first-team All-America honors from the NEA in his senior year. He also twice earned first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors.

Bell ranked third nationally in kickoff returns his senior year at 25.1 yards per return, and fifth in 1972 at 24.9. He was seventh nationally in receiving in 1974 with 53 catches for 700 yards.

He was one of the top outside threats for Arizona at the peak of his collegiate career with the Wildcats. In his first year in Tucson under coach Bob Weber, UA went 4-7 before improving to a record of 8-3 in 1973, along with a pair of 9-2 finishes in his junior and senior seasons under coach Jim Young.

Bell is seventh all-time in program history in receptions (153), sixth all-time in receiving yards (2,509) and second all-time in receiving touchdowns (30). He is also tied for the second-most touchdowns in a season in program history (11) and seventh in receiving yards in a single game (217).

Bell was elected to the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame when first eligible in 1979. It was three years after the Hall of Fame was created. He is considered to be one of the top wide receivers in program history.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round in 1976. He won two Super Bowls with the Steelers in 1979 and 1980. He later also played five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after signing as a free agent, where he totaled 1,470 yards and four touchdowns on 95 receptions across 13 games.

Bell passed away in 2006 at age 52 after a long battle with kidney disease and scleroderma. He had been hospitalized for most of two months and had battled the illnesses for more than a year.

What do you remember from Bell's career at Arizona or his time in the NFL? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.