{"id":692660,"date":"2026-05-25T13:16:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/692660\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:16:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:16:36","slug":"bell-selected-in-third-round-of-cfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/692660\/","title":{"rendered":"Bell Selected In Third Round Of CFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREENVILLE, N.C. \u2013 Former East Carolina center Darius Bell<\/a> was selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the No. 29 overall pick (third round) in the 2026 CFL Canadian League Draft on Tuesday night. With his selection, Bell is the second Pirate ever taken in the CFL Draft following Jordan Williams<\/a>, who was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 by the B.C. Lions.
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\nBell is the second Pirate from the 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl Championship team to be selected in a professional draft this year after Anthony Smith<\/a> was selected by the Dallas Cowboys (seventh round) in the 2026 National Football League (NFL) Draft on Saturday, April 25. Three additional teammates have signed rookie mini camp invites in LB Samuel Dankah<\/a> (Denver Broncos), LS Triston O’Brien<\/a> (New Orleans Saints) and ATH Mike Wright Jr.<\/a> (Seattle Seahawks).
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\nBell’s Bio Sketch
\nCareer Notes: Earned four varsity letters (2\/East Carolina, 2\/Maine) \u2026 Played in 40 career games (22\/East Carolina, 18\/Maine) \u2026 Started 35 career games on the offensive line (19\/East Carolina, 16\/Maine) \u2026 Logged 2,420 career offensive snaps \u2026 Member of back-to-back Go Bowling Military Bowl Championships (2024 and 2025).
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\n2025 (East Carolina): Started all 13 games at center for the Pirates earning second varsity letter \u2026 Two-time gameday captain (Campbell and Army) \u2026 Logged 968 snaps on the offensive line which was tied for a team-high with Kojo Poku \u2026 Helped provide running lanes for three 100-plus yard rushing efforts (London Montgomery<\/a> 125\/Tulsa, 103\/Memphis; Marlon Gunn Jr.<\/a> 130\/Florida Atlantic) \u2026 Member of an offensive unit that averaged 449.0 yards of total offense per game (13th nationally) and 176.3 rushing yards per contest (45th nationally) \u2026 The Pirates offense also stood among the FBS leaders (Top 35) in 3rd down conversion percentage (16th\/47.2), passing offense (19th\/272.7 pg), first down offense (22nd\/303), scoring offense (24th\/32.7 pg), sacks allowed (25th\/1.38 pg) and passing efficiency (35th\/146.22) \u2026 Member of an offensive line unit that helped the Pirates register 500 or more total yards in a game four times (Campbell, Tulsa, Temple, Florida Atlantic) recording 614 at Temple \u2026 ECU rushed for 200 or more yards in a game on four occasions (Coastal Carolina, Tulsa, Temple and Florida Atlantic) with a season-high 358 at Temple \u2026 Four times the Pirates passed for 300-plus yards (NC State, Campbell, Tulsa and Memphis) with a season-high 383 at NC State in the season opener \u2026 Member of the Go Bowling Military Bowl Championship squad.<\/p>\n

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