While the University of Hawaii football team is preparing for the (hopeful) start of the 2020 season, head coach Todd Graham and his staff are also looking ahead to 2021. The program has already secured seven commitments for the next recruiting class. The latest: Tyriek Bell, a 6-3, 210-lb. linebacker who most recently played at Saddleback College in California.

Last fall, Bell led the Gaucho defense with 79 total tackles (53 solo). He was especially effective as a blitz defender, recording 4.5 sacks and 10.5 total tackles for losses. For his efforts, Bell was named the conference’s National Division Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Saddleback finished the season 9-2 in 2019 and reached the Southern California Regional semifinals.

Bell told Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he will sign his National Letter of Intent on Dec. 16, which is the first day of the NCAA Early Signing Period for football recruits. He will have three years of eligibility.

Bell has taken a circuitous route to the Islands. He was an All-Area standout for the Westwood H.S. Redhawks in South Carolina. Upon graduating in 2014, he enrolled at Tusculum College, a Division II institution in Tennessee, before deciding to enlist with the Marine Corps. Bell served in three different infantry battalions over the next four years and served a deployment in China and Korea.

Bell is a civic-minded student who has served as a volunteer for the NAACP. He aspires to enter law school and become a civil attorney.

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