Hoover Football

Hoover defensive end Christian Bell poses in Hoover, Ala., Friday, July 25, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

(MARK ALMOND)

After winning three state championships at Hoover, Christian Bell spent the fall away from playing, but got himself better for a college career at Alabama.

Bell, now up to 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and prepared to play the JACK linebacker position for the Crimson Tide, was asked by coaches to grayshirt - delaying enrollment until Jan. 2016 despite being a 2015 high school graduate.

Bell signed his scholarship papers on Wednesday and will report to Tuscaloosa on Jan. 9 or 10, he said.

"I had a few days to think about it," Bell said. "It was hard on me at first, so I had to figure out if that's what I really wanted to do. I talked to my family about it and we just decided that was the best thing to do."

Looking back on it, it helped the former three-star recruit.

"Physically, I got stronger and faster," Bell said. "My mind has gotten stronger, too."

Bell spent the fall working out, training and coaching a fifth grade Hoover peewee team, serving as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

"It was really fun," Bell said. "Actually, coaching made me want to turn that into a career if football doesn't work out."

Bell will now learn under new Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who was once a Hoover assistant when Bell was a youngster.

"I think it's good. It's good for Kirby Smart (who got hired at Georgia) that all his hard work paid off and Jeremy Pruitt comes back home," Bell said. "I think that's a good thing."