Crimson Tide defensive end Dakota Bell has not appeared on the field for the last few weeks and now we have the full story of why he is out for the season. Apparently he blew off his own finger in a hunting accident early this month.
Head coach Nick Saban did note on December 17 that Bell was out due to a hunting accident, but did not give any immediate details. Now, though, we have learned that the accident led to the loss of the player’s entire index finger.
Bell has finally related the whole story telling al.com that his entire finger is “completely gone.”
“I was tying a rope around the barrel and around the stock to keep the shotgun from falling out of my lap,” Ball said. “I was tying rope around the barrel and it just went off. I didn’t have my hand on the trigger.”
There was a brief moment of disbelief.
At first he thought he had shot through the middle of his hand. Then he saw the index finger “hanging by a piece of skin.”
They rushed back to his buddy’s house on the four-wheeler and drove straight to the hospital. Ball can’t remember how long it took.
“At first it wasn’t painful but once we got to the hospital, that’s when it started hurting — when my adrenaline started wearing off,” Ball said. “Then it got pretty bad.”
The now sidelined player concluded saying there was “no hope for the finger.”
Bell, credited this season with 12 tackles, one tackle for loss and half of a sack, was listed as a backup to defensive lineman starter Dalvin Tomlinson.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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