Pruitt Recalls Long-Time Relationship with Jumbo Athlete Trinity Bell

Jeremy Pruitt knew of Trinity Bell long before he took over at the University of Tennessee. Pruitt’s father, Dale, was the head football coach at Albertville (Ala.) for four years and during the time, he introduced Bell to his oldest son, Jeremy.

Bell sent in his letter of intent to play for Jeremy Pruitt on Wednesday, and the Volunteers Head Coach recalled the relationship.

Pruitt said, “Trinity Bell from Albertville, Alabama, is a guy that actually was in the seventh grade, my dad was the head football coach there and he called me and said, ‘listen, there’s a kid here in the seventh grade…I don’t know if he’s going to play in the NFL or play in the NBA, but he’s going to play somewhere. I want to bring him down and introduce him to you.’”

Pruitt continued, “So, he’s a young man that I’ve known probably since he was 12 or 13 years old – he was probably 6-4 then. But a guy that’s 6-7-plus, 265 pounds, plays tight end, can play multiple positions. Plays defensive end. A guy that’s just extremely athletic.”

 Bell’s athleticism should only help him at the college level. “I talked to him the other night after a basketball game and I said, ‘so how many points did you have?’ He said, ‘I had seven dunks.’ So, I said, ‘did you make any free throws?’ He said, ‘I was 5-for-5.’ So, a guy that’s really, really athletic,” Pruitt said while recapping the 2021 signees on Wednesday afternoon.

Part of Bell’s SI All-American evaluation reads: Bell’s blend of height, budding girth and overall coordination is worth a Power-5 offer all by itself despite his clear lack of polish. Natural pass-catching skills mean he’ll start at tight end for Volunteers, though he must be wary of gaining too much weight. Several years away in terms of strength, technique and experience, but possesses long-term ceiling of impact starter and NFL draftee.