Nearly a year ago to the day, Raja Bell was back in Utah touring BYU’s football facilities on a recruiting visit.
The former Jazzman was in Provo for his son, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, and hearing out what the Cougars could offer a five-star prospect. Dia Bell, then a rising-sophomore, was just starting to accumulate a laundry list of offers back then.
Now, Raja Bell knows where his son will play college football. But his path will not take him back to Utah, where Raja Bell had two stints playing for the Jazz.
Instead, Dia Bell committed to Texas this week. He is rated the second-best quarterback in the class of 2026 and the 10th-best prospect overall.
The younger Bell had offers from both BYU and Utah. The Utes offered Bell back in January. The Florida product also had offers from Oregon, Ohio State, Auburn and more than a dozen Power Four schools.
Raja Bell played for the Jazz over the course of four seasons. He averaged nearly 10 points a game and three rebounds. In his 12-year NBA career, the only team he played more games for was the Phoenix Suns.
When Dia Bell received an offer from Utah, Raja Bell said Salt Lake was, “one of our favorite places to live.”
