Markquese Bell came into Dallas Cowboys training camp hungry again and it showed on Saturday night.
The second-year safety from Florida A&M was all over the field in the Cowboys preseason debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He racked up a game-high 10 tackles and broke up one pass in Dallas’ 28-23 loss to Jacksonville.
The safety was also a force in the run game, coming up with four tackles in run support.
Bell has gotten more reps on defense this training camp as the Dallas Cowboys have been impacted by injuries at the safety position early on. Safeties Donovan Wilson and Israel Mukuamu suffered injuries earlier in camp, giving Bell more of a chance to show what he can do. Bell had to leave the field himself with an injury earlier this month, but he returned to the field and set himself up for a big night on Saturday.
Being a playmaker is nothing new for Markquese Bell. After starting his career at the junior college level, Markquese Bell landed at Florida A&M. He compiled 95 combined tackles, five forced fumbles and two sacks in his final season at Florida A&M.
Considered by many to be the top prospect from a historically black college in 2022, Bell was not one of the four HBCU players selected in that NFL Draft. Bell was instead signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. He made the squad primarily as a special teams player.
Obviously, if Bell can continue to fly to the ball it will be hard to keep him off the field this fall.
Bell wasn’t the only former FAMU football star on the field on Saturday. Rookie edge Isaiah Land made his NFL preseason debut against the Jaguars and found his way into pressuring quarterbacks four times while drawing multiple holding penalties.