When Chris Bell was going through his first spring football practices at Penn State last year, he was surprised.

He didn't picture all the other players being so big. He thought it was going to be more like high school, he said.

This year, the rising sophomore wide receiver says he's taking everything more seriously, and it's showed. Leading up to the Blue-White game this weekend, Bell's teammates repeatedly talked about how much improvement he had made throughout spring. On Saturday, Bell got the chance to show that improvement to 71,000 fans while playing for the White team. He caught four passes for 116 yards -- the most among players on either team -- and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown catch from Daryll Clark in the fourth quarter of the White team's 30-6 victory.

"It was my first big play," Bell said of the fourth-quarter touchdown catch. "[I] wanted to do it in front of fans, so [they] get a taste of how I play."

Bell said after the game that, at times, it's been hard for him to be patient as he's waited for his chance to show everyone what he could do. Last season, he caught passes in each of the first three games but didn't catch another after that.

What's helped him, he said, is advice he received from Levi Brown, a former Penn State offensive tackle. Both attended Granby High School in Virginia, and when Bell was a senior, the two talked about his future at Penn State.

"He told me that when I get here, I gotta have a lot of patience, because the greatness will come," Bell said. "Me being young, I didn't want to hear it. But it's been all right."

Even after his performance Saturday, Bell said that things haven't always gone his way this spring. He said that he's had some bad days at practice -- that sometimes he'll run the wrong routes or not come off the ball hard enough, which can result in getting an earful from his coaches. Still, he tries to look at it in a positive light, and said hearing his teammates praise his work is encouraging.

"Sometimes, I get real discouraged because it seems like a lot of things don't go my way," Bell said. "But it's a learning experience. Joe [Paterno] talks to me all the time about keeping my head up."

Bell said he's picked up a lot from the receivers ahead of him, crediting rising junior receivers Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams with much of what he's learned.

But he's found himself in a teaching role, as well, as he has become more vocal among the younger receivers, relaying advice he receives to his peers.

"Even though I'm learning, whatever Deon will tell me, I'll go back and tell [redshirt freshman Graham] Zug," Bell said. "He's in the process of learning, too."