As of today, a member of the Auburn football program’s reserve offensive line has put his name into the NCAA transfer portal according to Matt Zenitz of AL.com. Kamaar Bell, a 3-star recruit, was a member of the Tigers’ 2019 class.
Bell played in only one game for the Tigers, making his debut at Jordan-Hare against LSU this past year after red-shirting as a freshman.
2019 3-star OL Kamaar Bell has entered the transfer portal after redshirting as a true freshman and playing in one game in 2020 at Auburn @rivalsmike @RivalsWoody @BMattAU https://t.co/AGJatNGovm
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) January 21, 2021
Kamaar Bell becomes the second offensive lineman to enter the transfer portal in 2021, the other being Justin Osborne. After redshirting his first season at Auburn, the OL entered the transfer portal in early August to be closer to home in Dallas, TX due to concerns relating to COVID-19.
Originally recruited by former Auburn football HC Gus Malzahn, Bell was a 3-star out of Georgia committed to Auburn in 2019 on National Signing Day over Florida State.
When Bell was originally recruited to the Plains in 2019, Louisville, Florida State, and Indiana were the other schools in consideration. It isn’t known if there is still interest from those programs, but FSU is in the midst of a rebuild and appears to have room for an impact transfer, per Tomahawk Nation:
"…but of the 2 remaining scholarships (maybe 3 more on that below), per NT&T and Josh Pick, there are 2 HS players in the cards in WR Destyn Hill and DT Tywone Malone. Assuming FSU lands one of them (WR Hill being most likely per our crootin’ team), that leaves room in this class for 1 or 2 more transfers. The staff might try to sign 27, or get another scholarship from a medically disqualified player, but that is still TBD."
Bell would certainly qualify as such, coming from an SEC juggernaut that routinely ranked in the NCAAF Top 25 even in a down year.
Then again, Bell was not part of Auburn football’s up and (mostly) down 2020 season.
With all of the changes in the coaching staff, the massive lineman clearly decided a move out of Auburn was best for his development in his second collegiate season–one that will occur almost two years after his last ended.
Either way, Fly War Eagle wishes the best for Mr. Bell in his future endeavors.