[LeeCoUKFan]

Visit solidifies Bell's commitment to UK football

Justin Rowland
Special to CatsIllustrated.com

Alvonte Bell arrived at Kentucky a little bit later than some of his future teammates this weekend, but in the short time he was in Lexington he realized again where he wants to be.

New coaching staff, same positive vibes. In fact, Bell has never been more optimistic about the future of the program he committed to last year.

The Miramar (Fla.) Everglades defensive end arrived at Kentucky on Saturday instead of Friday, when most of the other recruits arrived. He was late because he participated in the Dade-Broward Under Armour All-Star Game, where he recorded five tackles and shared a sack in a double overtime loss.

It was good to be back in action because Bell missed some time during his senior year with a minor injury. Still, he registered 37 tackles and four sacks in the fall.

"I had already seen everything but just going out with some of the older football players already on the team is what made it fun," Bell said.

Sophomore defensive lineman Mike Douglas was Bell's host and that was a good pairing. Douglas was also a Florida recruit committed to UK at one point.

Bell also said he liked to see a lot of other Florida recruits on campus for their official visits. That connection has made him feel even more comfortable with his choice.

"I knew some of them," he said. "I knew Regie Meant, Alex Montgomery and Boaz Joseph. I saw Regie committed and we were excited about that."

D.J. Eliot is the new staff's assigned recruiter for Bell. So far that new staff has made a great impression.

"I'm solid," he said. "Everybody has pretty much backed off. Nobody has really been trying to talk to me lately."

Bell added that he's looking forward to reaching out to Montgomery and Joseph in the near future. He hopes to try to recruit them to Kentucky before Signing Day.

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