Name: Ronnie Bell
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 192 lbs.
High school: Kansas City (MO) Park Hill
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Bell #12 and said he would be a starting wide receiver (LINK). He caught 26 passes for 401 yards and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating: 71
We have reached the point in the countdown where I think any major injury in the top eight could be devastating for Michigan's season. In this case, I hemmed and hawed about who should be ranked the lowest of the tier, and I finally settled on Bell. Bell still gets a lot of flak for not being good enough, which is odd to me because he has led the team in receiving for two consecutive years. He has also repeatedly shown that he's the only receiver who can consistently gain yards after the catch. That led to him averaging a respectable 15.8 and 15.9 yards per reception in each of the past two seasons. But when you're an afterthought as a recruit with no high-level offers, I guess that stigma sticks with you.
The 2020 season saw him make 4 receptions in five games and 6 against Indiana, a game in which he totaled 149 yards and 1 touchdown, including a 52-yard catch and run. Bell has decent hands and isn't afraid to venture over the middle. He can break tackles and maintain his balance well, but what he lacks is top-end speed. His leadership and toughness have led to him being named a captain for the 2021 season, so I don't think he's getting passed up on the depth chart. There's a chance that another receiver will take over the lead in receptions or yards this fall, but I'm putting my figurative money on Bell to once again lead the team. With other talented receivers on the roster, I don't think the passing game would fall apart if Bell were to get injured, but I don't know that any other receiver can take a bubble screen or RPO slant, break a couple tackles, and gain 40-50 yards after the catch.
Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 43 catches, 670 yards, 4 touchdowns
He's a good blocker too. But what Bell needs (in addition to speed) is a QB who can get him the ball, an OL to give that QB time, RBs who can keep the Defense honest, and another Receiver(s) to pull defenders off Ronnie
ReplyDeleteIn other words, he's good as is. But we need so much more to avoid 4 or 6 losses
Mark JE down for predicting a 5 loss season.
Delete9-3, losses against ohio & Wisconsin, but hopefully not beatdowns
DeleteLoss to either PennSt, Washington, Indiana, sparty or Nebraska (perhaps in that order of likelihood)
So I could just as easily see 5-7 ... hopefully not
I agree with the strong and continued support for Bell, the Deveon Smith of WRs.
ReplyDeleteI dont think the team would be any different if he was out.
ReplyDeleteYou know why he's been our most productive Receiver? Not only does he have a knack for getting open, but his YPC average is elite. No one in a UM uniform can do what he does
DeleteNot sexy, but productive. Kinda like Haskins
You don't think Michigan would be any different if its #1 receiver the past two years and a captain missed the season? That's an odd stance.
DeleteI was never a De'Veon Smith fan, but I never thought the team would be the same without him, at least not when he was an upperclassman.
I wouldn't compare bel's value to the team with smith. Wilson could take bell's place today, or baldwin too, and everything would be fine.
Delete@ joeseph dreamed dreams 2:23 p.m.
DeleteWho's going to take bubbles and digs and turn them into 40- or 50-yard catch-and-runs? Nobody else has shown they can do that, including a guy that everyone loved like Giles Jackson.
You're a very big fan of Ronnie Bell.
DeleteLOL. I'm actually not. But I do think it's funny how everyone dogs him over and over again, and all he does is become captain, lead the team in receiving, etc.
DeleteI wonder what it's going to take for him to get the respect among Michigan fans for leading a team in receiving that had Tarik Black, Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, etc.
Youre not sure Brandon Peters is better than Milton even though his number are far better. But you are sure Bell is better than all WRs at Michigan because his numbers are better than him.
DeleteBrandon Peters at Michigan: 52.7% completions, 6.2 YPA, 4 TD, 3 INT, 0 rushing TD
DeleteJoe Milton at Michigan: 56.6% completions, 7.9 YPA, 5 TD, 6 INT, 3 rushing TD
Those numbers don't scream to me that Brandon Peters is a better QB than Joe Milton.
Brandon Peters starts at Illinois.
DeleteJoe Milton starts at Tennessee.
Delete