Bell Training camp PHOTO: Tim Austen/Freestyle Photography
Floyd Mayweather. LeBron James. Michael Jordan.
Mayweather, the boxer. James and Jordan, the basketballers.
All were elite, generational talents. All were superstar athletes that Greg Bell studied from afar, with a close eye on the grind and attention to detail they put into becoming the best at what they did. It’s where Bell found inspiration to push to not only be good, but to seek greatness.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS running back has faced plenty of adversity during his football journey, including an eye injury that could have blinded him. But, with faith, family, resilience and a dog-on-a-bone mentality, he’s become one of the CFL’s top running backs, a reliable ball carrier the REDBLACKS made a priority to sign during the league’s free-agency period in February.
Why Mayweather, James and Jordan? What did he take from the all-timers?
“They didn’t care what anyone thought,” said the 27-year-old Bell. “They kept working hard at what they did; it didn’t matter what was going on around them. What I took from it was that you can’t let anything distract you. Put your head down and keep working, no matter what’s going on in your personal life or wherever. If you stay focused on what you are doing and work hard at it, everything will work out.”
Along the way, Bell has been told he wasn’t meant to be a running back; maybe he should be a receiver, maybe he should play on defence. He proved any naysayers wrong.
“I always knew I was a running back, but it was something I had to push through,” he said. “I had to keep working at it to make sure I could make my dream come true.”
After a terrific high school football career in California, he wound up at a junior college, Arizona Western, where he again put on a show, from 2016-17.
Heavily recruited, he transferred to Nebraska in 2018.
The following season, without a scholarship, he went back home, committing to San Diego State. He took on a job at an Amazon warehouse to help pay for school.
A couple of weeks before the start of fall camp, a freak training accident derailed him. He was working out with a resistance band, but backed up a bit too far, and the band snapped into his right eye. Doctors told him he was at risk of losing sight in that eye if he took a severe hit to the head. So, he sat out the season.
“I didn’t think anything of it when it happened,” said Bell. “I thought, ‘I’ll go wipe my eye off, and I’ll be OK.’ But I couldn’t see. The doctor told me I needed immediate surgery.
“I knew I could work through it. I knew God would find a way for me to get back on the field. You can’t (feel sorry for yourself), you don’t want to get depressed.”
After COVID wiped out most spring football sessions in 2020, he got off to a quick start in the fall season, but was slowed down by a foot injury.
Undeterred, he hung in.
In 2021, he rushed for 1,091 yards, scoring nine touchdowns.
The next two seasons, he got NFL looks from Detroit and Pittsburgh.
Then, in 2024, he was scooped up by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Last season, Bell took a big jump ahead. With 1,038 yards rushing, 426 yards in pass catches and six touchdowns in 15 games, he was an offensive catalyst for the Ticats.
He says he hasn’t set individual expectations on what he can do with the REDBLACKS.
“My job is to make plays and help the team,” he said. “I feel like I need to keep proving myself, I need to show that I can still do this. But my goal is simple: Win football games. I’m a hard worker, I’m someone who loves football and is willing to do anything I can to help us win. I promise you this: I’m going to give 100% every day.”
Gaming is one of Bell’s hobbies; he figures it helps him as a football player as well. With the Ticats, he was involved in a group that played EA Sports College Football in a league format. Bell had TCU.
“I play NCAA, GTA (Grand Theft Auto), Call of Duty,” he said. “If you’re playing Call of Duty and someone comes at you from the left side, you have to turn and shoot them; that’s reaction time. I think it can be related to reaction on the football field; it sharpens what you do.”
Bell has been playing football since he was five. He also played basketball and baseball, but it just wasn’t the same. Asked when he thought becoming a professional football player was realistic, he said: “Forever. I’ve always thought this way. I had confidence in myself; I knew I could get to this level if I worked hard. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will. If you don’t keep pushing yourself, you don’t know what can happen.”
Asked to describe himself, Bell said: “I’m a quieter guy. I try to make sure I do things the right way. I also try to be a good person; I feel if that’s who I am, good things will happen.”
So, what do the REDBLACKS expect from Bell this season?
“(He helps us) a ton,” said REDBLACKS head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “He adds to our pass game. He’s going to give the defence problems, and they’re going to have to have a plan for (what he can do) each week.”
He’ll join Canadian running back Daniel Adeboboye, who is coming off a solid season, in the REDBLACKS backfield.
“Daniel will get some reps, he’ll still be on the field quite a bit,” said Dinwiddie. “We can’t kill Greg with a huge load. I think (Bell) will get the majority of (the playing time), then (sometimes) we’ll have them both on the field at the same time.”
FEST FOR THE FANS: The REDBLACKS will hold their Fan Fest Saturday, with an open practice from 1-4 p.m. at TD Place. There’ll be plenty going on.
“Really, we’re just trying to get guys ready for the pre-season game (May 22 in Montreal),” said Dinwiddie. “It’s a glorified practice to let the fans see our new players, but we’ll go through scenarios that could come up in a game. We’ll probably run about 45-50 plays.”
