Ridgeland Football Star Vonn Bell Back Home to Present Special Award at His Alma Mater

Former Ridgeland football star Vonn Bell is back home this week.

The New Orleans Saints safety will return to his high school alma mater Saturday night to present a special award.

Regardless of his NFL success Vonn Bell will always be a Ridgeland Panther.

Bell will be back at Ridgeland Saturday night to honor the school’s top male and female athlete of the year. It’s a new award that is now named for Vonn Bell.

Said Bell: “My mom presented me the whole thing. I was like man, for real? I had to sit back and just take a deep breath. I’m like man, what a special honor.”

It’s obvioulsy a special honor to play in the NFL.

Bell learned quickly why the NFL is dubbed a quarterback league.

Said Bell: “It’s really the quarterbacks and how smart they are.They can put the ball anywhere. It’s not like you are playing against Joe Blow. You’re playing against Dree Brees, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers and those guys in how they study you. They watch your mannerisms. So you’ve got to switch up your game too.

And it’s always a big test when the Saints battle the rival Falcons.

Dirty Birds is a dirty word for Bell.

Said Bell: “They’ve got a new stadium. They named it after Mercedes. They’re copying us. So it’s like you know what. It was like Ohio State and the team up north I can’t say that word.”

That would be Michigan.

Hey rivalries are tough, but not as tough as losing a dramatic playoff game.

Bell was on the field last January in Minnesota when receiver Stefon Diggs went 61-yards on the final play of the game to beat the Saints. Said Bell: “It felt unreal. It felt like a surreal moment. My heart dropped. It just fuels the fire. It’s something to build upon.”