Before Le'Veon Bell played for Michigan State and before he tallied nearly 1,400 rushing yards and over 850 receiving yards in a single season, he was a young player for Groveport Madison High School in Groveport, Ohio. In 2010 he was listed as a two-star recruit and the 211th running back in the nation.
His high school highlights reveal a talented player, but his speed, agility, vision, and strength are not stupendous, even compared to his high school teammates and competitors. Often on these highlight compilations NFL stars seem like absolute freaks of nature in their high school highlights, and we have to remind ourselves, "OK, this guy is one of the best football players in the world. Of course he makes his high school teammates look incompetent in comparison."
Not so with Bell. While it is clear he is an elite athlete with tremendous potential, what is most impressive about his high school highlights reel is that it shows just how much Bell has developed and evolved as an athlete over the last five years. His NFL highlights seem more like most stars' high school highlights in the way he has made his NFL competitors look inept as he evades their tackles runs by for high-yardage gains.
How much more will he improve in the next half decade, and what other hidden stars are there on the Steelers squad?
Check out young Bell: