Turns out that Steve Sarkisian is a blessed head coach. He already has Arch Manning, who is carrying the blueblood of two NFL generations. The Longhorns’ quarterback room just got more powerful with their latest 5-star quarterback commit, Dia Bell. He is the son of Raja Bell, who thrived as one of the top defenders in the NBA during the 2000s.

While the Longhorns fans might be happy with the addition of Bell to the roster, he might already be seen as Manning’s heir. Bell has won the 2026 Elite 11 Finals MVP, one of the country’s more prestigious skill competition awards for quarterbacks. Surprisingly, he does not see Manning as someone he needs to surpass. He carries a lot of respect for his senior and has no issues if the waiting time is too long for him because of Manning. 

Well, we are all aware of the Manning hype. However, while Bell is yet to step onto the gridiron for the Longhorns, he has already caught the spotlight. Bell is the first Texas commit to win the Elite 11 Finals event. So, it’s obvious that Manning is going to lose his charm, even if it means by a bit. But Bell has no intention to do it. As he seems to be the 2025 starter’s biggest hype man. On the June 25th episode of the Cover 3 Podcast, Bell congratulated Manning for moving past all the criticism. “I feel like Arch is like the main person you could look to like to kind of learn how to navigate all that noise and stuff like that.”

He continued, “I mean Quinn definitely had to for sure, but with Arch having the name as well as the hype around him going into this season being a first-year like starter, I feel like that’s something you could definitely look at. Like he doesn’t really get phased by it. He’s not worried about it at all, he’s waited his time, it’s his time now, and hopefully he’s going to take full advantage of it.” Well, Bell already has the skills that are needed for a Longhorns quarterback. He went 17 of 22 for 188 yards with four touchdowns and one drop against seven-on-seven defenses during the Elite 11 finals. So, he just needs someone to look forward to for that push. And definitely to him, Manning is the one. 

As he shared, “I’m coming in as a freshman that’s somebody you want to pick their brain and kind of take bits and pieces and make it your own. And I feel like he’s definitely somebody you could look to and kind of learn from in that sort of space.” Bell, who was named the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, had his 2024 season cut short due to a serious leg injury in Florida’s state playoffs. But after his electrifying feat at Elite 11, Bell has put to rest any fears that the injury would impact his long-term outlook. Talking about long-term? He sees Manning in it, too.

As Bell shared, “If he does decide to save the second year, I’ll have no problem learning, and that just gives me more time to learn everything and make sure that when it does or when it becomes my time, I’m as prepared as possible. So I have no problem sitting behind them at all because that just means that’s another person I can pick their brain and learn how they go about learning the offense or go about studying for the next week.” While Bell is yet to prove himself in the Longhorns squad, he has already extended his helping hand to support Sarkisian’s squad.

The wait begins, but Dia Bell is not sitting still  

Beating highly-ranked recruits Houston’s Keisean Henderson and Tennessee’s Faizon Brandon, Bell added his name to the list with stars who are now notable names in the NFL like Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, and C.J. Stroud. This left Elite 11 coaches buzzing with only one name, Bell, after his 7-on-7 feat. Former Packers quarterback Craig Nall shared, “What he did today in the 7-on-7 was beautiful. It’s his command, and it’s the little things. On one ball, the receiver was supposed to be off, and (Bell) adjusted. He’s never frantic. He’s always in control. Doesn’t get too high. Doesn’t get too low.”

His incompletions were overthrows, unsurprising for a guy with his abundance of arm talent. His throwing motion is clean, and he has looked to be in good control of the pigskin’s velocity and arc. However, he has to keep all these talents on hold till 2026. For now, he thought of taking part in the wooing game to lock in top recruits for Sarkisian and push Longhorns their way back to No. 1 for a second-straight cycle.

Dia Bell came with some updates. “There’s a couple for sure, guys like Jalen Lott, guys like Kaydon Finley, guys like Malakai Lee, Felix Ojo, we’ve got Vodney Cleveland. From what I can see I feel like Felix is feeling us, I feel like Vodney is there as well. I’m going to work Kaydon as much as I can this weekend. I feel me and him can do big things at Texas. I feel like he already has that connection with his dad going there. I’ve been trying to work Jalen Lott as well.” Now, you know that Bell’s not here for the headlines—he’s here to level up, personally and as a team.