Josh Bell, one of the most highly rated prospects of Kansas University’s 2005 recruiting class, has left KU.
“Yeah, he transferred to the University of Houston,” Alvin Stoneham, Bell’s father, said Wednesday. “He got a scholarship there.”
Neither KU nor Houston has announced Bell’s decision, but Stoneham said that Bell planned to join the Cougars football team starting this spring.
Bell, at 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, came to Lawrence a highly touted recruit at a position lacking depth on KU’s roster. He was the 21st-best tight-end prospect in the 2005 class and the 65th-best prospect in talent-rich Texas, according to Rivals.com.
KU coaches, though, decided to red-shirt Bell in 2005 and converted Russell Brorsen from defense to be the backup tight end. Meanwhile, Derek Fine started the entire season, catching 22 passes for 244 yards.
Bell traveled with the team to the Fort Worth Bowl last month, where the Jayhawks beat Bell’s new team, 42-13, on Dec. 23.
“He wanted to be closer to home, for one thing,” Stoneham said of Bell’s reasons for leaving KU. “He’s not used to Kansas and being so cold.”
As for KU’s tight end fleet now, Fine returns and looks to be the front-runner for the 2006 starting job. Brorsen will be a sophomore next year, and KU has one tight-end recruit, Marc Jones, signed for next season. Another, Bradley Dedeaux, plans to sign next week.
