VALDOSTA — Valdosta State head coach Kerwin Bell and Florida State coaching legend Bobby Bowden have a long history in the Sunshine State.

It’s because of the mutual respect Bowden’s developed with Bell that prompted him to make a call to the VSU athletics department in January of 2016.

Former Valdosta State head coach David Dean accepted a position at Georgia Southern in the early days of 2016, and the Blazers were left with the task of replacing the program’s winningest coach.

When Bell applied for the opening at VSU, he had a well-respected voice in his corner.

“I’ve recommended him on quite a few jobs, because I think he’s an excellent young coach,” Bowden said Thursday when he stopped in Valdosta to speak at the Boy Scouts of America’s “Building Leaders” dinner.

During his playing days at the University of Florida, Bell routinely got the best of Bowden’s Florida State teams.

The Gator Great went 3-1 in his career against the Seminoles from 1984-87, passing for six touchdowns and more than 500 yards through the air in four contests.

“(Bell) beat me so many times while he was at Florida, I can’t help respect him,” Bowden said with a laugh.

But it wasn’t until more than two decades later that Bowden and Bell shared a sideline at the inaugural Battle of Florida All-Star game in Boca Raton, Fla., in 2012.

The all-star game acted as a North vs. South showcase for NFL draft eligible players that had played either their high school or collegiate careers in the state of Florida.

According to Bell, the head coach at Jacksonville University at the time, he was just trying to find a spot on the North roster for his quarterback Josh McGregor when Bowden conceded under one condition: Bell acts as his offensive coordinator.

Bowden and Bell’s North team defeated Howard Schnellenberger’s South squad 51-3 in the 2012 Battle of Florida.

“I was the head coach, but I didn’t do nothin’,” Bowden said. “I just turned it over to him. He ripped them.”

Bowden became a staunch supporter of Bell following the all-star game, and he’s become an ace reference for Bell.

Valdosta State athletic director Herb Reinhard confirmed Bowden reached out to the university to praise Bell’s work at JU, but he wasn’t the only member of the College Football Hall of Fame to voice his support.

Reinhard said the “Head Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier also had positive things to say regarding Bell’s acumen for the game.

“Any time Coach Bowden vouches for somebody, and then Coach Spurrier as well, it reenforced what I thought: that he, from a football Xs and Os point of view, really knew his stuff,” Reinhard said.

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.