Longhorns Country

5-Star 2026 QB Dia Bell Commits to Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns already had a commitment from one of the top QBs in the 2025 class in KJ Lacey. Now, they have secured one for the 2026 class, with 5-star QB Dia Bell committing to the program on Monday.

Matt Galatzan

Recruits Dia Bell and Byron Louis watch Ohio State warm up before playing Penn State Oct. 21, 2023 at Ohio Stadium.
Recruits Dia Bell and Byron Louis watch Ohio State warm up before playing Penn State Oct. 21, 2023 at Ohio Stadium. / Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA

The Texas Longhorns are adding more signal-calling talent to Steve Sarkisian’s growing quarterback factory. 

Per an announcement on X, 2026 five-star quarterback Dia Bell has committed to Texas. He chose the Longhorns over teams like LSU, Penn State and many more. 

“I really enjoyed my visits and have developed great relationships with Coach Sark and Milwee,” Bell told Fawcett. “They are one of the best offenses in the country and have a track record of development at my position. I’m really excited about their move to the SEC and the opportunity to help bring a championship to the 40 acres.”

A product of American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Bell is a five-star on ESPN’s and 247Sports’ composite rankings. Over the past two seasons, he’s gone 135 of 210 passing for 2,246 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 58 rushes for 116 yards and three more scores. 

Bell’s dad is former NBA player Raja Bell, who constantly challenged the late great Kobe Bryant during battles between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. Dia clearly got some of this basketball talent from his father, as he averaged 20.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and five assists per game as a freshman. 

"Austin is a cool town and its a great University. The football program is one of the best in the country,” Bell had previously told On3. "Coach (Steve Sarkisian) and Coach (AJ) Milwee have had a lot of success offensively and especially with the development of their quarterbacks. I am good friends with their 2025 commit KJ Lacey.”


Bell ranks as a five-star recruit, the No. 9 overall player and the No. 2 QB in the nation per ESPN. Meanwhile, On3, Rivals.com and 247Sports have Bell as a four-star recruit. On3 is the highest of that bunch on Bell, ranking him as the No. 14 player in the country, No. 2 QB, and No. 1 player in Florida.

As such, Bell is obviously one of the most pursued players in the nation, regardless of position, and heard from a litany of programs including Penn State, LSU, Miami, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, among others.
However, the Longhorns won out.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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