Abdul Bello is one of the most interesting players in the 2015 class. He has great potential, but almost no experience.
Abdul Bello is one of the top offensive tackles in the Southeast region, and has schools around the country expressing major interest in him.
Bello attends Montverde (Fla.) Montverde Academy, and is projected to play offensive tackle at the next level. He is listed at 6'6 and weighs in at 295 pounds.
He is considered a four-star recruit by 247sports, was given three stars by Rivals and Scout, and has not yet been rated by ESPN. Rivals and Scout both rank him in the 30s among all offensive tackles, but 247sports considers him the fifth-best tackle in the nation. The 247sports composite -- which aggregates the rankings of all four recruiting services -- rates him as a four-star, considering him the 35th-best offensive tackle in the nation and the 37th-best player in the state of Florida.
Bello has many high-profile offers from around the region and the nation, including Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Miami, Missouri and Tennessee.
The Floridian is one of the most interesting prospects I have ever evaluated. To say he is a developmental player is both true and quite incomplete. Bello is a native of Nigeria and has only played six games of American football in his lifetime. He is ridiculously raw as a player.
Bello's film is quite limited, and the camera quality is poor. But I can make out him absolutely mauling defenders and driving them into the ground.
I was able to see Bello at the Orlando Nike Camp, and came away very impressed after realizing this was his first camp experience. Because he has such limited film, more of my evaluation is based on his athletic skills shown at a camp than I would normally use. Bello has a great build, with the capability to add more good weight. He is quite light on his feet, and worked his way through drills with ease. Bello bent quite well and he seemed very coachable.
He also was very unrefined in his technique during pass-rush drills, winning a rep or two, and being beaten badly on others. He did show a mean streak, however, and the losses in the drills were very much attributable to technique and not a lack of athleticism, which is an important distinction to make.
I'll be interested to see how much Bello improves as a senior. I do not believe he is a candidate to start as a freshman at a major school, but he could be one of college football's best in 2017-19 if he keeps developing his skill set.