North Texas Head Football Coach Todd Dodge may have gotten himself “a real gem” according to Everman High School Defensive Coordinator Dale Matlock when he talked about North Texas signing three star rated Aaron Bellazin, DE, 6-2, 230lbs. The coach has been at the school for 12 years and watched Bellazin’s progression as a football player and feels North Texas has gotten a strong defensive player who will definitely help the Eagles defense. Bellazin helped the 4-A school to an 11-3 record.

There were a lot of school choices for Bellazin including North Texas, SMU, UTEP, San Diego State, University of Louisiana-Monroe and Buffalo. Other schools that were heavily considering offering for his services were Texas A&M, Tulsa, Baylor and Utah. When it was all said and done, according to his coach, after a trip to North Texas, Bellazin felt playing for Dodge and North Texas was the right fit so he chose North Texas over his other offers. Since he comes from a close family playing for the Mean Green would allow him to play “close to home,” so family and friends could see him. In addition, he felt North Texas had “great educational opportunities” and he liked the coaches and what was happening with the football program.    

He was on the News-Telegram Top 50 local recruiting list.

Since his sophomore year his main position has been defensive tackle. However, during his senior year he was moved around. Matlock stated Bellazin is a versatile defensive player who played several defensive positions for Bulldogs this past season.  “We had to use him out of position but it got colleges to see all the things he can do. He played defensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker” and he never skipped a beat at any of the positions. He is projected to play defensive end for the Eagles.

In talking about Bellazin’s weight, “he has room to grow” Matlock said “and can grow fast.”  The coach projected he can easily get to 250 pounds without any problems or affecting his speed. Since Everman does not test speed in the 40 that information was not available. However, he has the speed to get off the ball quickly, can track down running backs from behind and has the footwork needed to play the position.

Another reason Bellazin is a good candidate for defensive end is his arm length. “I can’t remember the length exactly but his arm length is the same as a 7’ person,” Matlock stated. Offensive linemen and blockers find it hard to lock up on him because he can use his hands, upper body strength and arm length to fend them off or knock them out of his way. He looks like a hot knife going through butter when slicing through the offensive line no matter how many blockers he encounters.

His strength and arm length make him a sure tackler. He is able to lock up the ball carrier and bring him down. Not many ball carries can run over him or break his tackles.

Bellazin puts his upper body strength to work in the off season where he competes in track and field throwing the discuss and the shot-put. Last week he threw the discuss 151 feet and threw the shot-put 51 feet which made him a regional qualifier. At some of the other meets he competed in he was extremely successful. At the TCU Invitational he came in ninth in the shot-put allowing him to move to the regional’s. At the Joshua Owl Relays he came in second place in the shot-put. At the Everman Relays he was first in the shot-put throwing it 51’ 10.75” and second in the discuss with throw of 142’ 5.00”

During his sophomore year he competed in track but decided to compete in discuss and the shot-put.

Everman runs the 3-4 defense with the linebackers being the key to stopping opponents. It is why Everman was so effective because they could get to the corners to stop the running plays and Bellazin was the key to that success. The teams that were the most successful against the Bulldogs knew that and went straight forward in order to have a chance for a win.   It is how Everman was eliminated in the Class 4A Division II state quarterfinal game.

He lettered three years in football. In his sophomore year, primarily in a back-up role, he was elected second team all 8-A. 

In his junior year, from the defensive tackle spot he recorded 108 tackles, 51 for losses and nine quarterback sacks. He was first team all district, second team all state, team defensive lineman of the year.

See the video for his junior year highlights. You will know him, look for the quarterback with #44 laying on top of him.

Even with him playing out of position in his senior year, he still had impressive numbers with 54 solo tackles, 69 assisted tackles for a total of 123 tackles, 24 were for losses, four sacks for a loss of 31 yards. In otherwords he averaged 6.8 tackles and .3 sacks a game. He was unanimous choice for first team all 8-A defense for defensive lineman.

On special teams he handled one kickoff and one punt return. Against Big Spring a blocked punt was picked up by Bellazin and returned for 21 yards and a touchdown. Against the Fort Worth Southwest Raiders he picked up a fumble and ran it back 25 yards for a score.   

The coach feels Bellazin will make a good addition to the North Texas football program for another reason, he has the “highest character” and will represent the University of North Texas, the fans and the program well.

Bellazin is fully qualified.