It’s been 464 days since receiver Demitrius Bell suffered a knee injury in the spring game of April 2024.
The setback knocked Bell out for the entire 2024 campaign, plus this year’s spring practices. Last Monday, head coach Matt Rhule announced Bell would be out for fall camp as well.
Before Saturday’s Big Red Preview open practice, Rhule touched on Bell’s recovery. He said the 6-foot, 195-pounder recently traveled to Chicago to see a knee specialist. If all goes to plan, Bell could return to the practice field during the first half of the season.
“He’ll be back here soon. When I say soon, in the first part of the year,” Rhule said. “It’s just the after effects, pain tolerance, different things like that. So I don’t know enough to get too far into specifics other than, every time we’ve gotten closer, he’s almost back, it’s just a little bit of a setback. … Really positive outlook, though. So, expect him to be back, hopefully at some point in the first part of the season.”
After redshirting his first season at Nebraska in 2023, Bell, a former 4-star recruit in the 2023 class out Nashville (Tenn.) McGavock, was the talk of spring ball 2024. Unfortunately, Bell was one of two players who suffered a serious injury during that spring game. The other was cornerback Blye Hill, who appeared to be the starter opposite Tommi Hill until he injured his knee. That setback knocked Blye out until midseason.
“Last spring game was really unfortunate, right? We lost D-Bell, who we thought was probably going to be one of our best receivers to a semi-contact injury,” Rhule said Feb. 1. “And then Blye Hill, we thought was gonna be our starting corner. Those guys never quite came around.”
If Bell’s rehab does go according to plan, he’ll compete for snaps in what appears to be a high-potential receiver room led by position coach Daikiel Shorts Jr.
Kentucky transfer Dane Key, Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter and returning slot Jacory Barney Jr. are expected to be the core wideouts in a standard 11 personnel grouping. Veteran Janiran Bonner will also have a role as a pass catcher and blocker in offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen’s offense.
But the young talent behind those four are emerging. Big-body redshirt freshmen Quinn Clark and Keelan Smith stood out during Saturday’s Big Red Preview, as did true freshman Cortez Mills Jr., who repped with the first-team due to Key sitting out.
Uber-athletes Carter Nelson and Heinrich Haarberg, while listed as tight ends, could still have pass-catching roles out of the slot as well.
