Mullen: I hope I never have to deal with something that hard again

STARKVILLE -- Monday marked the five-year anniversary of the most difficult time in Dan Mullen's tenure at Mississippi State.The situation came outside the lines of play and affected his Bulldog family.

Nick Bell, a sophomore defensive end, was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2010 and died on Nov. 2.

"I know for me as a coach, I hope I never have to deal with anything that hard in my career again," Mullen said on Monday. "I don't think I've ever had to deal with anything close to that as a football coach, when you lose a family member like that. It's just a devastating thing."

Bell played in 16 games during his Mississippi State career, including four in 2010. The Bessemer, Alabama native recorded 22 tackles.

"Any time you play with somebody within your program and you lose a teammate, I think it's really hard on the young guys," Mullen said. "It's something you always remember and is always going to stick with you when you lose a family member way too soon in life."

Various Mississippi State's players wore his No. 36 for the rest of the 2010 season. The school signified the 36-yard line during home games too. The Bulldogs also wore a patch honor their fallen teammate.

"It made a lasting impression on me and our coaches and the players within the program," Mullen said. "I think now looking back on it, a lot of the young guys know of him, but they don't know him. But the guys who played with him, it's something that will stick with them forever."

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.