THE UNIVERSITY
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SPARTAN HISTORY
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2011 RECAP
COACHING STAFF
2012 SPARTANS
2012 OUTLOOK
2012 SPARTANS
18
Le’Veon Bell
24
RB | 6-2 | 244 | JR. | 2L COLUMBUS, OHIO GROVEPORT MADISON Powerful and explosive third-year player heads into his second season as Michigan State’s starting tailback . . . featured on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award (national player of the year) and Doak Walker Award (nation’s top running back) . . . listed among the nation’s top running backs by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview (No. 8) and Lindy’s (No. 22) . . . featured on College Football Performance Awards Running Back Trophy Watch List . . . ranked among the nation’s top draft-eligible running backs by NFLDraftScout.com (No. 14) . . . preseason All-Big Ten third-team selection by Phil Steele, Lindy’s and Athlon Sports . . . rated among the top running backs in the Big Ten by BTN.com’s Tom Deinhart (No. 3) and ESPN.com (No. 5) . . . ranked as the Big Ten’s “Toughest to Bring Down” by Lindy’s . . . two-year letterwinner has rushed for 1,553 yards and 21 touchdowns in 27 career games . . . ranks tied for 13th in MSU history in rushing TDs (21) and 14th in rushing average (5.37) . . . has four career 100-yard rushing games . . . talented all-around back has 46 career receptions for 364 yards (7.9 avg.) . . . 2011 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media . . . named to the CollegeFootballNews.com All-Sophomore Team (honorable mention) . . . . recipient of the team’s Most Outstanding Underclass Back Award for offense . . . led team and ranked eighth in the Big Ten in rushing with 948 yards on 182 carries (67.7 ypg.) . . . started the last six games at tailback . . . led team and ranked fifth in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns with 13 . . . had a team-best 10 rushes of 20-plus yards . . . ranked second on the team in all-purpose yards with 1,246 (948 rushing, 267 receiving, 31 kick return) . . . finished third on the team with 35 receptions for 267 yards (7.6 avg.) . . . rushed for 48 yards on 17 carries (2.8 avg.), including TD runs of 8 yards and 1 yard, in the tripleovertime win over No. 18 Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl; also tied his career high with five receptions for 39 yards . . . his 1-yard TD against the Bulldogs with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter tied the score at 27 and sent the game into overtime . . . recorded his second 100-yard rushing game of the season in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, collecting 106 yards on 18 carries (5.9 avg.), including a 6-yard TD run . . . rushed for a game-high 86 yards, including a 7-yard TD run, on 16 carries (5.4 avg.) in victory at Northwestern . . . led MSU with a game-high 68 rushing yards and had one catch for 23 yards against Indiana . . . named Spartan Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 112 yards on a career-high 20 carries, including a 25-yard TD run, in victory at Iowa; also had two receptions for a career-high 49 receiving yards . . . named Spartan Co-Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for a career-high 165 all-purpose yards in win over Minnesota with two rushing TDs (1 yard and 35 yards); had 15 carries for 96 yards (6.4 avg.) and five receptions for 38 yards against the Gophers . . . led MSU with 58 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.8 avg.) at No. 13 Nebraska in his first career start and crossed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career; had 70 all-purpose yards against the Cornhuskers (58 rushing, 12 receiving) . . . had 114 all-purpose yards in the victory over No. 4 Wisconsin with a team-high 87 yards rushing on 16 attempts (5.4 avg.) and four receptions for 27 yards . . . led team with 50 yards rushing on 14 carries and also had two catches for 17 yards in win at Ohio State . . . named Spartan Offensive Player of the Week after tying his career high with three rushing TDs while leading MSU with 81 yards on eight carries (10.1 avg.) vs. Central Michigan . . . had a career-high five receptions for 23 yards at Notre Dame . . . led MSU with 69 yards rushing, including a 2-yard TD run, in win over Florida Atlantic . . . ran for two TDs and 40 yards on nine carries in the 2011 season opener vs. Youngstown State . . . 2010 SEASON (FRESHMAN): Earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors from ESPN.com and Rivals.com . . . midseason addition to the Doak Walker Award Watch List . . . appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2010 and ranked second on the team in carries (107), rushing yards (605) and rushing touchdowns (8) . . . averaged 5.7 yards per carry . . . 28 of his 107 carries (26 percent) resulted in either a first down or a score, including three gains of 20 or more yards . . . led the team in rushing in three of the first six games while averaging 91.5 yards per game and 7.7 yards per carry (71 rushes for 549 yards and 8 TDs) . . . had 11 receptions for 97 yards (8.8 avg.) . . . also returned six kickoffs for 142 yards (23.7 avg.) . . . carried seven times for 78 yards and one score in MSU’s 34-17 victory over No. 18 Michigan in Ann Arbor . . . averaged over 11 yards per carry against the Wolverines, and his 41-yard TD run around left end gave MSU the lead for good at 14-10 with 4:23 left in the first half . . . ran 16 times for 75 yards vs. No. 11 Wisconsin, including a 23-yard run around left end on a fourth-and-1 play late in the second quarter that set up Kirk Cousins’ 8-yard TD pass to Mark Dell that gave MSU a 20-10 halftime lead . . . rushed 11 times for 92 yards and three TDs vs. Northern Colorado, scoring on runs of 8, 1 and 15 yards . . . earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors
twice, rushing for 141 yards and two TDs in the season opener vs. Western Michigan and a game-high 114 yards on 17 carries in MSU’s 34-31 overtime victory over Notre Dame, including a 16-yard TD run in the third quarter . . . became the first freshman running back in MSU history to rush for more than 100 yards in his debut . . . rushed six times for 108 yards in the first half alone vs. WMU, and his 75-yard run around right end set up the Spartans’ third TD . . . enrolled at Michigan State on Jan. 11, 2010, for the beginning of the spring semester . . . HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Named to SuperPrep’s and PrepStar’s All-Midwest Teams . . . three-year starter for Coach Tim Brown at Groveport (Ohio) Madison High School . . . selected first-team All-Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division as a senior . . . rushed 200 times for 1,333 yards (6.7 avg.) and 21 touchdowns in 2009 . . . carried 30 times for a career-best 336 yards and four TDs vs. Dublin Jerome . . . gained 228 yards on 26 attempts and scored four total TDs vs. Marysville . . . accounted for 1,750 total yards and 24 total TDs as a senior, returning two punts and one interception for scores . . . ran for 1,100 yards and 13 TDs as a junior . . . added 789 yards and nine rushing TDs as a sophomore . . . earned second-team All-OCC Ohio Division honors in basketball as a junior . . . also participated in track and field . . . attended the same high school that produced former Spartan and current New York Jet safety Eric Smith . . . son of Lisa A. Bell . . . born Feb. 18, 1992 . . . majoring in sociology. BELL’S CAREER HIGHS ___________________________________________ Carries: 20, vs. Iowa (11/12/11) Rushing Yards: 141, vs. Western Michigan (9/4/10) Rushing TDs: 3, twice (last vs. Central Michigan, 9/24/11) Receptions: 5, three (last vs. Georgia, 1/2/12) Receiving Yards: 49, vs. Iowa (11/12/11) BELL’S STATISTICS _____________________________________________ RUSHING G/GS ATT YDS. AVG. TD LG YPG 2010 13/0 107 605 5.7 8 75 46.5 2011 14/6 182 948 5.2 13 35 67.7 Career 27/6 289 1553 5.4 21 75 57.5 RECEIVING 2010 2011 Career
REC. 11 35 46
YDS. 97 267 364
AVG. 8.8 7.6 7.9
TD 0 0 0
LG 35 45 45
KICKOFF RETURNS 2010 2011 Career
ATT 6 1 7
YDS. 142 31 173
AVG. 23.7 31.0 24.7
TD 0 0 0
LG 32 31 32
BELL’S GAME-BY-GAME STATISTICS__________________________________ 2010 RUSHING ATT YDS TD LG Western Michigan 10 141 2 75 Florida Atlantic 10 49 1 17 Notre Dame 17 114 1 16 Northern Colorado 11 92 3 18 Wisconsin 16 75 0 23 Michigan 7 78 1 41 Illinois 10 13 0 6 Northwestern 8 12 0 11 Iowa 6 12 0 4 Minnesota 6 -1 0 3 Purdue 2 7 0 4 Penn State 0 0 0 0 Alabama 4 13 0 6 Totals 107 605 8 75 2011 RUSHING Youngstown State Florida Atlantic Notre Dame Central Michigan Ohio State Michigan Wisconsin Nebraska Minnesota Iowa Indiana Northwestern Wisconsin Georgia Totals
ATT 9 14 7 8 14 7 16 12 15 20 9 16 18 17 182
YDS 40 69 27 81 50 20 87 58 96 112 68 86 106 48 948
MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL
TD 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 2 13
LG 13 22 8 30 11 8 32 11 35 25 21 20 26 8 35