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So where, exactly, do recent signings Malcolm Bell from North Carolina Central University and Austin Apodaca from the University of New Mexico fit in?
Only one of them is likely going to spend the season on the roster as the Bombers fourth quarterback, so even that promises to be a hard-fought-for position in 2017.
“All I’ve been told is I’ve got to learn the playbook really fast and I have to go out and shine,” Bell says. “I’ve got to go out and perform at rookie camp and be the fourth guy.”
The Bombers three-day rookie camp starts Wednesday and there will be five under-contract quarterbacks on the field. The pre-main camp practice time will be far more important to Bell and Apodaca than any of the other pivots.
Bell already looks at this as a second chance with the Bombers.
He was offered a contract by the team in late April, along with an invitation to the team’s mini-camp, but he rejected it in hopes of landing an NFL deal.
Despite going through two pro days and a quarterback showcase in front of all 32 NFL teams, Bell was not drafted, nor signed to a free agent deal.
He spent the next two weeks hoping the Bombers were still interested and finally got the call on May 16. ...
Apodaca, 23, is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and more of a pure pocket passer. He was under-utilized in the run-happy New Mexico offence, throwing for 1,377 yards over two seasons, but is said to have a strong arm and a gunslinger mentality.
On the other hand, Bell started out as a runner who evolved into one of the top throwers in NCCU history.
“I can do it all,” Bell says. “That’s kind of a broad statement but when my team needs me to sit back and pass, I’m a pretty accurate passer and I can throw the ball with touch and velocity, whatever is needed. Early in my college career I was more of a runner, so a lot of people will say ‘He’s a scramble-first guy,’ but over the years I proved everybody wrong. If I have to run, I will. I’m a pretty good runner but at the same time I can pass with the best of them so put all that together and you have me.”
If that sounds like a lot of other CFL quarterbacks, it should.
There’s one CFL quarterback in particular that Bell compares himself to — Darian Durant, who went to the University of North Carolina just down the road from Bell in Chapel Hill.
“I have been watching him,” Bell says. “Him being from UNC and North Carolina, 15 minutes away from my school, you hear his name. He’s 5-foot-11, a shorter guy, he’s been really successful, a legendary quarterback in the CFL