SAN ANTONIO — At LEE High School, it is easy to see why Adam Bell stands out.
"Everybody knows who the big red-headed kid on campus is, he's always smiling," Volunteers head coach Danny Kloza says with a laugh.
Hair jokes aside, Kloza is happy to have this guy at practice every day.
"You think of one word, and that's 'competitor,'" Kloza said. "You're going to have to kill him. He never stops."
"If you go full speed there's nothing you really need to fear," Bell added. "The only person you have to beat is yourself."
It's a mentality he's learned on the wrestling mat, a place where he is rated No. 1 in the state at 220 pounds by Wrestling Texas.
"I definitely feel like a lot of parts of wrestling carry over into football with the mental toughness aspect," Bell said. "If you're not physical and you're timid and you have doubt in your mind, you're not going to do well."
Head wrestling coach and offensive line coach Jody Odom calls Bell a machine, someone who knows how to scrap for success.
"He's definitely the guy everybody looks to as the model for how to work and how to get things done and excel," Odom said. "There's not another person in this state who works as hard as he does at what he does."
With LEE riding an 18-game losing streak, the senior is prepared to do what whatever is necessary, which is why Kloza and the Vols need more Bell.
"First and foremost we need him on the defensive line," Kloza said. "He'll come off the field, he'll get a drink of water and (go) in on offense."
Bell, a defensive tackle and tight end, said, "I'm just really competitive. I hate to lose. If I'm on a team I want it to be the winning team, so I'm going to do everything in my power to make it the winning team."
Bell is a tough guy to miss.