Twelve Impact Offensive Players To Watch In The Big 12: Oklahoma Quarterback Blake Bell

Blake Bell has never started a game for the Oklahoma Sooners, yet in two seasons he's amassed 24 touchdowns, a bowl MVP award and put himself in the Oklahoma football record book. The problem is that he's done it all with his legs and now the Sooners will need him to use his arm to lead them in the 2013 Big Twelve championship race.

In 2011 he became just the third Oklahoma quarterback to run for four touchdowns in a single game when he crossed the goal line four times against Baylor. His three-touchdown performance against Iowa, in the Insight Bowl, earned him the Offensive MVP Award and set the freshman season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback at 13.

He followed up his freshman season with 11 rushing touchdowns in 2012, and has produced a total of 361 career rushing yards with a 3.5 yards per carry average. Now, as the 2013 season approaches, he's the most likely candidate to win Oklahoma's quarterback competition (Some would claim that he's already unofficially won it) and lead the offense this fall. In practices and scrimmages he's shown a strong arm and decent accuracy but also a tendency to hold the ball a bit too long because of indecisiveness.

Bell will have the advantage of senior running backs Damien Williams and Brennan Clay, receivers Sterling Shepard and Jalen Saunders, and four returning starters on the offensive line. He'll have proven experience all around him which makes him the key component to making the offense work. For all that he's done right at Oklahoma, Bell has yet to throw a touchdown pass as a Sooner. That's a stat that Oklahoma fans expect to change this fall, and will have to change significantly for Oklahoma to achieve offensive success in 2013.