From Chicken Farms to Chizik
Had someone knocked on the door of Cameron Bell’s double-wide trailer ten years ago to tell him he’d someday play football for Iowa State, he would have laughed off the offer to excel in a sport discouraged by both of his parents. Had he received the knock on his brother’s door, where he’d live after his parents’ deaths, facing a knee injury, a sub-par GPA and a bad case of teenage rebellion, he would have been shocked by the offer to play at the college level. But after a childhood filled with a turbulent series of both curses and blessings, that’s exactly what he is doing today.
“From my own struggles, tragedies, curses and blessings, I’ve learned to grow and persevere,” Bell says. “It’s made me realize that even through the tough times, if you live your life right, you’re going to gain wisdom from it.”
The tough times for Bell began in Hopkins, S.C., in a trailer park where living paycheck-to-paycheck was common. Bell’s parents provided for their 13 children by running a chicken farm just outside their home.
“People didn’t understand how we made it with that many kids, but I never knew any different,” Bell says. “They always wanted to know how we fit that many kids in a trailer, and how we took showers with eight girls in the family. We had trouble with hot water, but we had a system. When you have a big family like that, you appreciate what you do have. Family becomes the most important thing.”
In Hopkins, the chicken farm business was hit-or-miss. Bell’s family competed with nine others around town, and as it was their only source of income, each family member worked to make it successful. As Bell’s father became sick, the farm’s progress declined. When he was six-years-old, his father died of a massive heart attack, leaving behind the responsibility of more than 85,000 chickens that comprised the business.
A regular day for Bell began at 5:30 a.m. Before school, he accompanied his siblings to the farm, where they would pick up dead chickens that could infect healthy birds. At the time, Bell did not realize he was a provider for his family.
“Since we competed with farms around the area, my mom rewarded us if we did well in the rankings,” Bell says. “She’d take us to McDonald’s, or the Dollar Store or Wal-Mart to get a present. It was always something small, but it was just her way of saying thanks. It meant the world to us kids. I thought we were rich. I thought we were spoiled.”
It wasn’t until he was 11-years-old and his mother was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer, that Bell realized her powerful impact on his life. As his mother became increasingly ill, Bell found himself in trouble more often. He was involved in fights and had knives pulled on him, the trouble compounding until his mother’s death, occurring a year after diagnosis on her birthday. Without her guidance, Bell took to the lifestyle that was common around the Hopkins area.
“For me, my mom was my best friend when I was younger,” Bell says. “She was the only person who could beat me for doing something bad, and still love on me. [Her death] was a devastating blow for me. My dad died when I was so young, and my mother was the only person who would always love me, regardless of who I was or what I did. After she died, I felt like I had nothing.”
The death of both parents forced Bell to grow up faster than most children, according to his sister, Cauretta Bell. While his temper intensified after the death of his parents, his family members continued to support him.
“After the death of our mother, we had to realize that neither our family members nor God was the enemy in the situation, and we had to get over that,” Cauretta says. “Cameron learned that at an early age, and that’s why he loves people so much. He has grown tremendously as a young man.”
After losing their mother, Bell and his siblings became classified orphans under state law. Their mother willed custody of the younger children to their oldest brother, who was newly married. While other relatives offered to split custody of the children, Bell says his behavior was not welcomed by other family members. Realizing that separation was not in the children’s best interest, Bell’s older brother assumed custody and brought them to his home in Austin, Texas.
“When my brother took me in, I was still getting in trouble,” Bell says. “I was in and out of the principal’s office, so my brother and I started having conferences with each other three or four times a week. He had trouble trusting me because I didn’t always tell the truth. I knew how to avoid telling him the truth without lying.”
It wasn’t until he found football that Bell channeled his anger into passion. Although both his father, who had suffered football injuries in high school, and his mother, who was devoutly religious, discouraged their children from playing, Bell’s brother recognized his passion.
“Football became my rejuvenator,” Bell says. “It let me free myself from the anger I had been keeping inside.”
While Bell excelled in the sport during his freshman year of high school, his brother suspended him from playing late in the season due to bad grades. Although he was told he would not be playing until his grades improved, Bell’s urge to play trumped his brother’s rules.
“I wanted to go out on the field and ease my mind,” Bell says. “I had this idea that I could do what I wanted, that he couldn’t tell me what to do, so I played. After the game he sat me down and gave me two options: grow up and respect his rules, or get out.”
Following their conversation, Bell packed his things and left for the airport, hoping to move in with one of his sisters. He didn’t make it to the airport, however, turning the car around and returning his brother, as his mother would not have wanted him to separate the family.
“My brother and I had a long talk,” Bell says. “He told me that I could decide if I wanted to be a 14-year-old boy, or a 14 year-old-man. He let me play football again because I started acting right.”
As Cameron was raised primarily by his older brother, he took advantage of the open relationship. Experiencing life with a younger role model helped him to anticipate and manage future situations.
“Cameron is very caring, loving and open in everything he does,” Cauretta says. “Sometimes he can be too trusting. Because he’s made mistakes and he’s a Godly man, he will turn the other cheek if you hurt him. We have to watch out for him because of his kindness so he won’t get hurt, but he’s protective of us too. It’s the little things with him that builds relationships, character and those life-changing moments.”
Although Bell was a star football player, he went out of his way to break clique barriers at Stony Point High School. In a school of 3,000 students, Bell was easily the most popular, and was voted Mr. Stony point by his peers.
“Cameron is someone who accepts everyone for who they are, which is something you don’t usually find at the high school level,” Vanessa Conner, Bell’s 11th grade English teacher, says. “He was a star football player, yet he had close friendships with jocks, goths, skaters, everyone.”
During his sophomore year, Bell was approached by his high school coach, who had been contacted by University of Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik about playing for the Longhorns. While Bell had success as a running back, Chizik was interested in recruiting him as a linebacker for UT.
“I was fast and strong, and there was no way I would play linebacker,” Bell says. “I wanted to sit in the spotlight. Everywhere you look, that’s where the running backs are. You just don’t see linebackers in the spotlight.”
Although Bell was a favorite among UT coaches, his grades were too low to get accepted as a Longhorn. After receiving the crushing news, Bell worked to raise his core GPA from a 2.08 to a 2.6 in one year, only to take a devastating blow on the field his senior season. During the fourth game of his senior season, Bell tore his MCL, an injury that would require extensive rehab. During the next four weeks, Bell received offers to play football for New Mexico State, Michigan State, Central Michigan and Texas A&M. After committing to play for Michigan State, their head coach was fired, leaving Bell without a college, or a scholarship. Bell was contacted by New Mexico State again, and verbally committed to the school.
“After everything that happened, I ended up calling Coach Chizik to let him know I would be playing for New Mexico State,” Bell says. “He said, ‘You can’t go there. I just took the head coaching job at Iowa State University, and I want you to come play for me.’”
Bell says the transition to becoming Cyclone linebacker was a tough, but by trusting Chizik’s decision, he grew comfortable as a team player. Director of Operations Barney Farrar says Bell has surpassed the high expectations set for him after he was recruited to play at ISU.
“With Cameron, you have two players in one, because he can play offense or defense,” Farrar says. “He’s very talented, a special type of player. We made the move [to linebacker] early, and he has adjusted and picked up skills quickly, and he’s a very smart player as well. He’s met our expectations and then some.”
While Bell’s physical strength and ability will help him succeed on the field, it is his maturity off the field that catches the eyes of both coaches and peers.
“He doesn’t have to talk on the field, he just proves it through his ability,” Farrar says. “He’s not only a good athlete and student, but he’s a very humble person. We’re proud to have him in our family.”
For Bell, the future is uncertain. In an uncommon move for a freshman, Bell appeared in all games of the 2007 season and all but one game of the Cyclones’ 2008 season. With three solo tackles and plenty of game time as a freshmen, as well as fourteen solo and five assisted tackles as a sophomore, Bell has exceeded expectations of coaches and teammates.
While it may be too soon to look toward a career in the NFL, Bell wants to focus on his time at ISU. He embraced his position as a linebacker, and is motivated to become a role model for younger players.
“Even when I come off the field and I’m tired, and I don’t want to talk to anyone, I make sure I talk to kids, give them autographs,” Bell says. “My experiences in life have made me hold myself accountable, and knowing that there’s always someone watching. I want to be someone who’s seen as a leader, an inspiration, to be a shining light for others. That’s what I’ll be striving to do in the next few years.”