Steve Jones

Courier Journal

The Louisville football team received a recruiting commitment Wednesday night from Arizona Western College running back Greg Bell, who's the nation's No. 3 junior-college player at his position, according to the 247Sports.com composite ratings.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Bell, who took official visits to Louisville and Boise State last month, gives U of L a big back at a position of need in the 2018 class. The Cards will lose seniors Reggie Bonnafon, Jeremy Smith and Malik Williams after this season.

Bell was a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American after helping Arizona Western reach the junior-college national title game last season.

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is rated three stars by 247Sports.com, two stars by Rivals.com and three stars by the 247composite ratings that average various sites. He's the nation's No. 57 junior-college prospect overall, according to the composite list.

Utah, Arizona and Arizona State were among the other schools he considered.

Bell led the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference in rushing yards (1,187) and yards per carry (6.6) in 11 games as a freshman last season, and he tied for fourth with seven rushing touchdowns. He had six 100-yard rushing games, including season-high 171 on just 16 carries in a 56-0 win over Air Force Prep.

Bell is the 18th commitment in Louisville's 2018 class, including the fourth from a junior college.