Students of Middle Ridge Elementary School had a surprise guest Wednesday. D’Anthony Bell, a former Middle Ridge Mustang, came to the school to speak to the students. 

On his visit, Bell shared a plethora of messages to the student body. But there was one lesson Bell hoped each student took home. 

“The biggest take away is, like I said to them, just always feeling like you can believe in yourself. No matter what, believe in yourself and you can accomplish those things,” Bell said. “A lot of people are going to tell you, ‘Oh, you can’t do that. That’s impossible.’ Or, ‘That’s hard.’ But, if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”

Currently, Bell is a third-year safety with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL). In the 2023 season, Bell tallied 22 total tackles, forced one fumble and collected two interceptions. 

Bell played high school football at Alcovy High School where he graduated in the class of 2015. On Aug. 30, 2022, Bell made it onto Cleveland’s 53-man roster, which made him the first Alcovy alumnus to make it onto an NFL squad. 

Bell can recall dreaming of playing on the professional level even as an elementary student. 

“I think I first said when I was in kindergarten — like what I wanted to be when I grow up — I would say, ‘I want to be an NFL player,’” Bell said. “I think my mom still has the paper. Yeah, I always wanted to be in the league. Now, I made it and it’s a dream come true.”

When asked what his favorite memories are while attending Middle Ridge, Bell pointed to the pull up bars on a wall inside the school gymnasium. 

“Yeah, how I used to win the pull up challenge all the time when I was younger,” Bell said with a big smile. “Nobody could ever beat me.”

Bell’s sister contacted his niece’s teacher to set up Wednesday’s visit with Middle Ridge’s administration.

One of the biggest motivations of returning to visit and speak comes from Bell not recalling anyone doing that while he was in elementary school. 

Now, being in a position to come and help inspire the next generation is a “blessing” for Bell. 

“I don’t remember nobody ever doing that, so that’s what makes me want to do it for these kids,” Bell said. “Give them something to remember. Even just to brighten their day up. Kids just having a bad day, they might see me and have a great day after that. It’s always a blessing to do that.”