HAMILTON — It’s the Holy Grail for running backs, and a milestone Greg Bell is closing in on for the first time as a professional football player.
The six-foot, 200-pound Bell has run for 837 yards (5.7-yard average) this season, his first as a CFL starter. If Bell can average 55 yards rushing over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ final three regular-season contests, he’ll crack the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time since 2021, his final collegiate season at San Diego State.
“It’s very important,” Bell said Thursday. “I’ve got to give all the credit to my offensive line, without them I wouldn’t be close to getting that.
“It’s very important for all of us in this room.”
James Butler (1,116 yards in 2023) was Hamilton’s last 1,000-yard rusher. Before him, DeAndra’ Cobb did it in 2009 and ’10 (1,203 and 1,173, respectively).
“Greg was banged up early so it was a little bit of a slow start for him and us an offence running the football,” said Scott Milanovich, Hamilton’s head coach/offensive co-ordinator. “But I think the last five or six weeks, you can see him kind of catching his groove and he’s playing well, both in the run and pass game.”
Bell cracked 1,000 yards rushing three times over his college career — 1,187 yards and 1,217 yards in 2016-17, respectively, at Arizona Western before registering 1,091 yards in 2021 at San Diego State. But doing so professionally has proven much more difficult.
After being bypassed in the ’22 NFL draft, Bell signed with the Detroit Lions but spent that entire season on injured reserve with a hamstring ailment before being released in July 2023. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly after and was eventually added to the practice roster before being let go Oct. 3, 2023.
Bell signed with Hamilton in March 2024. After starting last season on the practice roster, Bell saw action in eight games, rushing for 625 yards (6.6-yard average) with six touchdowns while adding 29 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown.
Hamilton released Butler on Jan. 9 and he quickly rejoined the B.C. Lions. Butler currently leads the CFL in rushing with 1,061 yards.
Veteran Ticats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell said Bell’s improvement throughout the season has been impressive.
“There were some slips early in the year where you get frustrated because you’re finally the main back and you’re not competing for it,” Mitchell said. “I think he wanted to prove himself early on but I feel like our offence has really evolved as he’s evolved.
“It’s taken 17 weeks to where he’s almost at 1,000 yards. It took me 13 years so it’s pretty impressive for him to do that.”
Bell is currently sixth in CFL rushing but has run for 474 yards (6.8-yard average) and two TDs in Hamilton’s last four games. The 27-year-old Californian admits he’d relish returning to the 1,000-yard club.
“Most definitely,” he said. “It would mean all of the hard work in the off-season and during the season has paid off.
“I think I’m having a decent year but I know I could be doing more, honestly. But that’s not the most important thing, the goal is winning, we’re trying to win.”
Hamilton (9-6) stands first in the East Division, two points ahead of second-place Montreal (8-7). The Ticats visit the Toronto Argonauts (5-9) on Saturday afternoon while the Alouettes are idle.
With a win, Hamilton would eliminate archrival Toronto — the defending Grey Cup champion — from playoff contention. But of more importance to Bell and the Ticats is resuming their winning ways following last week’s dismal 40-3 road loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“We came out soft in every phase and got dominated so there’s many lessons we can learn,” Bell said. “We’ve got to come out this week and play much harder and get the win.”
Hamilton stands seventh in CFL rushing (94.3 yards per game) but has cracked the 100-yard mark in each of its last four contests. And for Milanovich, the ground attack takes on added significance late in the season and during the playoffs.
“When you’re trying to make a run in a playoff season, I always feel like in one game something is going to be off,” he said. “Whether it’s the elements, maybe your pass game isn’t working, maybe it’s a wind game where you’ve got to be able to run the football to win.
“That’s why I think it’s important get it going and have the ability to have some balance.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
