May 05, 2020
Re-posted From The Wayne State University Website
Former Wayne State University running back and 2016 WSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Joique Bell was selected to the Detroit Lions All-Decade Team as announced by the Detroit News.
According to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News:
“This selection is a damning indictment of Detroit’s ground game the past decade. Bell gave the Lions a couple of nice seasons. Plus, he was a heck of a story as a local kid who used to work security for the team while attending college at Wayne State. But no one should feel good about the fact Bell had 932 more rushing yards than any other Lions back the past 10 years. He also added another 1,638 yards in the passing game, scoring 23 total touchdowns in 63 games for the franchise.
After graduating from Benton Harbor High School in 2005 and redshirting that fall at WSU, Bell put together a HOF resume in his next four years with the Warriors.
Joique Bell was a four-year football letterwinner (2006-09) who won the 2009 Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II.
A four-time First Team All-GLIAC selection, Bell had 6,728 career rushing yards (sixth in D-II and eighth in NCAA history), while his 152.91 rushing yards per game was 11th in D-II and 25th in NCAA history.
Bell’s 576 points ranked fifth in NCAA history (all three divisions combined), while his 13.1 points per game average was fourth in D-II history. He accumulated 8,055 all-purpose yards which was fourth in D-II and ninth in NCAA history.
Bell, a two-time GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year award winner, was responsible for 100 touchdowns (88 rushing, 8 receiving and 4 passing) in 44 games. He finished with 918 receiving yards and set WSU records for rushing attempts, total offense (7,008) and total plays (1,198).
A two-year team captain, Bell became the fourth player in D-II history with two 2,000-yard rushing seasons. His 1,181 career rushing attempts ranked sixth in NCAA history (all divisions) and second in Division II history.
He is the only two-time AFCA All-American in school history earning that recognition in both 2006 and 2009. Bell concluded his Warrior career with 34 100-yard rushing efforts of which nine were at least 200 yards and two were 300-yard games.