by Malcolm Butler
Kyle Williams remembers the first time he saw Payton Bell on the football field.
The Ruston defensive coordinator knew then that the Bearcats had a difference maker coming up the ranks. He was right.
“I remember seeing him in the eighth grade,” said Williams, who knows a thing about defensive line play from his days at Ruston, LSU and with the Buffalo Bills. “I remember going down and seeing the (Ruston) Junior High kids. I came back and said, ‘There’s an eighth grade kid down there, and he is going to play for us next year. As a freshman he is going to play defensive line (on the varsity).’
“His body function and control at that young of an age and how explosive he was … all of those things. I was like, ‘He is going to play for us next year.'”
Williams eye for young defensive lineman’s talent and ability was spot on. The very next year the Bearcats opened the season against Carencro and Payton Bell saw meaningful snaps.
“I remember saying, ‘I’m not telling you he is going to play 30 plays, but I’m telling you he is going to play,'” said Williams. “I wasn’t a complete liar. I think he ended up playing 28 plays against Carencro as a 14-year-old freshman. And all he did was get after it.
“He played really, really hard. He was explosive getting off the ball, doing everything we asked him to do. He has been quite the player for us.”
Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh remembers those conversations vividly.
“We both talked about it,” said Baugh, who is leading Ruston into its third straight state championship game. “You worry about an incoming freshman. Is he mature enough physically and mentally to be able to get in there? As we got to know Payton and watched him in the weight room … he is abnormally strong for his size. We felt like physically he was fine as we watched him over the summer (prior to his freshman year).”
Carencro was a run-heavy, physical offensive football team. And despite the staff’s opinion of Bell, they were still a little concerned whether he was ready.
“Kyle made the comment that he wasn’t sure if he could get in against Carencro and give us a bunch of snaps … we weren’t sure if he was physically ready to hold up against a team like that,” said Baugh. “Then he ends up playing a bunch of snaps and he help up. I think it said a lot about Payton and his want to.”
Four years later, Bell will make his 55th career varsity start — his third in a state title game — when the Bearcats line up to play Central Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Caesar’s Superdome with the Nonselect Division I title on the line.
“Payton has been around the longest,” said defensive line coach David Taylor. “He understands the game. He is a very intelligent kid.”
Bell has all the intangibles according to his coaches. And although he has been an integral part of the Bearcats success during his four years, at times, he has played in the shadows of some of his higher-profile teammates.
“He kind of got lost in shuffle last year as far as people outside of the program go,” said Williams. “You look at (Ahmad Breaux) is going to LSU and (Geordan Guidry) is going to Tulane. But if you talked to every coach that we played, they ask, ‘Who is #94? Who is that?’ He is the straw that stirs the drink and he has been for quite a few years.”
Bell has definitely made a name for himself.
“If you ask coaches in all-district meetings who they are ready to graduate … Payton Bell is the one they say just because of all the things he can do,” said Baugh. “I know he isn’t about to load up and go to LSU or Tulane, but you just ask coaches we play who they need to know where they are at (on the field) and the answer is Payton Bell.”
This season Bell has been a huge reason why Ruston’s defense has made tremendous strides. He has totaled 53 tackles, 6 sacks and 13 tackles for loss while playing a variety of roles on the defensive front.
“He has been so flexible and he is so smart as a player,” said Williams. “We will move him around to find match-ups. He will play inside. He will play outside. He primarily played inside last year for most of the year, and then going into the playoffs we moved Ahmad inside and him outside.
“We have stood him up at linebacker here down the stretch a few times. He is just very flexible.”
According to Bell, the biggest role he has embraced this season has been one of leadership, especially with the graduation of Breaux, Guidry and linebacker Jadon Mayfield.
“One of the biggest things that I had to learn this year was maybe it’s time for me to be a leader,” said Bell. “Those guys are gone and now it’s time for me to step up. I have to start gaining the attention of other teams to help these other guys to make big plays.
“I practiced harder. I let the other guys know its okay to (make mistakes). You aren’t going to be perfect all the time, but overall, you just have to keep competing, competing, competing. And the results will show.”
His teammates have noticed.
“I’ve known Payton since we were little before football,” said junior defensive lineman Ra’Keem Potts. “I’ve always watched him because he has been playing since he was a freshman. He knows a lot of things. If I need help, I ask him. He will help anyone with anything. He has played a really big role on this defense.
“He doesn’t talk much, but when you watch him play on the field … he is a dog.”
Some of Bell’s biggest games have come in some of the Bearcats most impressive defensive performances. It’s not a coincidence.
In Ruston’s 36-0 win over rival West Monroe, Bell recorded four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. In the first round playoff win over Zachary, he totaled six tackles and one sack. He added a sack in the Bearcats semifinal victory over Destrehan.
“He is hard to handle in there,” said Baugh. “He has a lot of tools to be able to use. He gets off blocks really well. His movement up front is good. He gets off the ball fast. He has all the things you want in a defensive lineman.”
At 5-foot-10, 245-pounds, Bell isn’t the most imposing figure on the field, but his coaches and teammates know he is one of the most genuine … and fiercest.
“He is two totally different people,” said Williams. “I always tease him that he has the big-eyed puppy dog look. He is walking through (the field house) and he kind of shuffles around and he has this wide-eyed looked to him. Real sweet, unassuming kid. Soft spoken.
“And then he gets on the football field, and you are like, ‘Who is that?’ He is truly Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is the kid you love to sit down and have a conversation with. He is very humble and affectionate and kind. And then he puts his cleats on, and he will ruin your day.
“You couldn’t design anybody better as far as who you would want on your team leading your guys. He is what you want (in a player). He is the epitome of what we want a Ruston Bearcat to be.”
Bell knows he has one high school game left. He said he has been blessed to be a part of a tremendous run in Ruston High football history.
However, he said he has one more thing to accomplish before he hangs up his high school cleats.
“We came here to build a dynasty,” said Bell “That’s what I preached to the other guys. If we don’t practice like we want to play and win state championships, then its not going to work out. That’s why we are here.”
