Class of 2027 · running back

James Bell

5-11, 195 · Simeon · Chicago, IL

Uncommitted

53offer strength · No. 1155

0.8550composite · 3-star

16offers · 6 power

Where he is likely to commit

STM odds · provisional

Miami

the strongest program on his board; 1,180 miles from home

14%

Ole Miss

one of the stronger programs on his board; last contact Oct 22

12%

Kentucky

one of the stronger programs on his board; 310 miles from home

12%

Show all 5 programs

Missouri

one of the stronger programs on his board; 320 miles from home

11%

Indiana

one of the stronger programs on his board; last contact Dec 2; 190 miles from home

Shares of 100% across his offers, from dated offers, visits, distance, need and recent contact; no expert picks or rankings. On 212 held-out commits the top pick was right 42% of the time (visits alone 23%). How the odds are made.

Every offer

16 offers

Big Ten · strength 74

American Athletic · strength 43

Show all 16 offers

American Athletic · strength 53

cool

offered May 14

Buffalo

Mid-American · strength 26

cold

offered Jan 23, 2025

Toledo

Mid-American · strength 42

cold

offered Jan 30, 2025

New Mexico

Mountain West · strength 32

cool

offered May 14

Marshall

Sun Belt · strength 27

cool

offered May 14

Western Kentucky

Conference USA · strength 25

cool

offered May 14

Miami (OH)

Mid-American · strength 23

Best programs first, by what each offer is worth in our grade: program strength times how rarely that program offers (how it is made). Warm means an offer, visit or camp in the last 60 days or an official visit in the last 120; cool, contact in the last 180; cold, older or a decommit. A count is the offers on record, not every offer the staffs made.

Where he fits

best 3 of 16 offers

Best fits

Miami

Has started 3 running backs his size since 2022; STM odds 14%; even at running back (4 with 2+ years left)

No. 1

Ole Miss

Has started 5 running backs his size since 2022; STM odds 12%; even at running back (6 with 2+ years left)

No. 2

Arizona State

Thin at running back (4 with 2+ years left); has started 1 running back his size since 2022; STM odds 5%

No. 3

Need (how thin the program is at his spot) x fit (whether it starts players his size) x room (who leaves after this season), and while he is uncommitted, STM odds. How it is made. Not advice, and never a dollar figure.

Where his size starts

226 of the 529 FBS starters at running back since 2022 were his size (5-10 to 6-0, 181 to 209 pounds): most in the Big Ten (38), Big 12 (27) and ACC (26). Programs that start it most: Maryland (5), Ole Miss (5) and Purdue (5). Of his offers, Ole Miss (5), Temple (4), Miami (3) and Indiana (3) have started it.

Who needs him

Of his 16 offers, Missouri has the thinnest room at running back: 3 with 2+ years left of 8, 6 portal exits in 3 seasons, 1 commit this cycle. Also thin there: Arizona State.

Starter seasons 2022-2026: six or more games in one of the position's starting slots by volume (college snap counts are not public). How it is made. Room is 2+ years left plus 2027 commits at the spot against the 68 programs mapped (the power conferences and Notre Dame); exits are the 2024-2026 portal feeds. How it is made.

Boards that looked like his

1 of 10 drafted

Johnathan Ford

Class of 2013 · RB · signing not on record

2 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 5-11, 190

Not drafted

match 72

Mikell Lands-Davis

Class of 2015 · RB · signing not on record

2 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 5-11, 205

Not drafted

match 69

Rakeem Boyd

Class of 2016 · RB · signed Texas A&M

Both offered by Missouri, Arizona State and Memphis; both about 5-11, 200

Not drafted

match 69

Nick Wilson

Class of 2014 · RB · signed Arizona

3 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 5-11, 195

Not drafted

match 68

Nick Gibson

Class of 2015 · RB · signed Mississippi State

2 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 5-11, 195

Not drafted

match 67

Show all 10

Jeff Jones

Class of 2014 · RB · signing not on record

3 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 6-0, 200

Not drafted

match 66

Tyreik Gray

Class of 2015 · RB · signed Houston

Both offered by Missouri and Arizona State; both about 5-11, 185

Not drafted

match 64

Craig Lee

Class of 2013 · RB · signed UCLA

5 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 6-0, 190

Not drafted

match 62

Jarquez Hunter

Class of 2021 · RB · signed Auburn

Both offered by Ole Miss and Memphis; both about 5-10, 190

Drafted 2025, round 4, No. 117

match 62

A.J. Turman

Class of 2013 · RB · signed Georgia

3 offers from top-25 programs; Bell had 2; both about 6-0, 205

Not drafted

match 62

Past recruits whose offer boards looked most like his: same position, about the same size, offers from programs of the same strength, about as many. Past boards are offers at signing day; his is the board he holds today (Nov 2, 2026). Classes 2016 to 2026 are thin in our record today, so most matches come from 2010 to 2015. 9 of these 10 have finished their draft window. History, not a forecast for him.

Timeline

16 dated moves since Dec 2, 2024

Offered HowardMay 14

Offered MarshallMay 14

Offered MemphisMay 14

Offered New MexicoMay 14

Offered TempleMay 14

Offered Western KentuckyMay 14

Offered Western IllinoisJan 30

Offered MiamiJan 26

Show all 16 moves

Offered KentuckyJan 22

Offered MissouriJan 22

Offered Arizona StateJan 21

Offered Ole MissOct 22, 2025

Offered Miami (OH)May 13, 2025

Offered ToledoJan 30, 2025

Offered BuffaloJan 23, 2025

Offered IndianaDec 2, 2024

Newest first, from recruit posts and the national recruiting data. An offer with no posted date sits in the offers list only.

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Every 2027 class How the grades are made

Where he is likely to commit

Every offer

Where he fits

Boards that looked like his

His board on any day

Timeline