Name: Kendrick Bell
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Kansas City (MO) Park Hill
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Bell was a senior in high school (LINK). He completed 224/339 passes (72%) for 35 touchdowns and ran for 670 yards and 10 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 74
Bell, who is the younger brother of outgoing receiver Ronnie Bell, has put up some gaudy numbers at Park Hill the past couple seasons. An athletic quarterback who can create on the move, he threw for a whopping 35 scores and ran for 10 more, accounting for 45 total touchdowns. For a team that played 11 games, that's more than 4 touchdowns per game for which he was responsible. A lot of people were surprised when he was offered by Michigan, though, because he was an under-the-radar recruit - just like his brother, who is likely to get drafted.
I'm not sure where the younger Bell fits in Michigan's roster. Listed and announced as a quarterback by Jim Harbaugh, that's probably going to be the first place he gets a shot. Will he stick around there for his entire career? Michigan has J.J. McCarthy for 2023 and possibly 2024, and 5-star quarterback Jadyn Davis arrives in 2024. Eventually, I think Bell is going to have to play safety or receiver. In the meantime, he's very thin at 180 pounds and has several guys ahead of him, including McCarthy, Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, and a running option in Alex Orji. I'm expecting Bell to redshirt this season, and perhaps he will be a guy whose position gets re-evaluated on a yearly basis.
Prediction: Redshirt
Excited to see what the future holds for the young man. Could be a Zach Gentry situation but could also be a Joe Milton situation where he proves the doubters wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think it's notable that most Harbaugh seasons have seen a QB-run-option package utilized with guys like McCaffrey (2018), Milton (2019), McCarthy (2021), and Orji (2022). Last year it was not done in meaningful situations but in 2021 and 2019 it definitely was.
If Orji does get moved to another spot it would not surprise me if Bell stuck around at QB longer than many expect. I don't think both "athlete" QBs will get moved, although it does seem like Tuttle can fill the role this year if called on there's no obvious heir in 2024. So while I think it's reasonable to expect Orji to move OR Bell to move, both happening feels like a long shot (at least for now).
Has Milton proven doubters wrong?
DeleteI think Tuttle might be a backup this year and potentially beat out Davis Warren for the #2 QB spot. But I don't think Tuttle is going to come in and be the run-only guy like Villari, Orji, etc. If the coaches want to run clock at the end of games, they're almost certainly going to use Orji.
DeleteI don't think either Orji or Bell will move in 2023. I think both will be QBs, at least through the regular season. Maybe bowl season will see a shift, kind of like what happened with Gentry, when he started to get WR reps during bowl season after his freshman year (before moving to TE).
@Thunder. Agree with you but if Orji moves in the fall that door opens up. I don't think he will, in part because the logical spot where he'd fit physically (LB) is stacked. I don't think moves for Orji or Bell are imminent. But I could see one of them moving at some point later on. I think Orji's most likely path is being a specialty package/backup QB for his entire Michigan career. We'll see though. He's fun.
Delete@JE. Yes. He started games at Michigan in 2020, Tenn in 2021 and Tenn in 2022. He lost his job to Hooker, but Hooker is supposed to be a 2nd round NFL pick. I'm a little surprised you want to walk down this road given you thought Milton should transfer to D3 for playing time and claimed Hooker wasn't a good QB when he beat out Milton. Milton has already proved his many doubters wrong, even if he spends his final year in college twiddling his thumbs.
You're counting his getting benched TWICE as evidence toward proving doubters wrong? And twiddling thumbs in year-SIX solidifies that? I guess there's no sense in disagreeing ... Go Blue
DeleteHooker wasn't a good QB. He had a .500 record as a VaTech starter, with less than impressive TD:INT ratio. Huepel's offense puts up huge stats, and Hooker did more with it than Milton could. Kudos to him, but we've seen more productive air raid QBs flame out in the League. GO BLUE
No I'm discounting that. That's a big deal to you but not me. Losing to hooker is understandable. He's projected as a 2nd round pick and tenn was a top 10 team. Milton beat Clemson.
DeleteYes, the win against Clemson should be considered, and should be reason for hope ... but not too long ago, you discounted Rudock v Florida, because the Gators (and many teams) check out for these non-playoffs Bowl games. I didn't opine then, but do agree with the logic
DeleteClemson with its true freshman backup QB who threw the ball 54 times in the game? No, that's a powerhouse team.
DeleteYes - Clemson who finished the year in the top 15 tean to AP and coaches and a top 10 defense (which seems kind of more relevant to Milton than the age of their QB - who BTM was excellent in the ACC champ game).
DeleteBeating Clemson isn't a reason for "hope" it's another example of Milton starting and winning games at a power 5 conference (2020, 2021, 2022). Results have been mixed, as we all know, you don't lose your job 2 years in a row if you're dominating but the fact remains -- elite coaches, coaching elite offenses, have elected to start Milton, repeatedly, with plenty of available options.
I have no knowledge of Clemson checking out for the Orange Bowl. Generally, Orange Bowl is a pretty big deal.
It's funny to me how far you all will go to discredit Milton. A guy who is considered a pre-season Heisman contender and who has won games as a starter at Michigan and Tennessee.
Looks like there were opt outs - Myles Murphy on Clemson and the two starting WR on Tenn. I haven't heard if Clemson checked out like I heard for Florida in early 2016. It's possible though.
DeleteThen again, I'm not arguing Milton is one of the 5 best QBs in Tenn history. I'm arguing he proved wrong the people who said he couldn't hack it at a power 5 school.
Not just opt outs, but their stud DL Bresee & the DE got hurt, and didn't come back ... zero pressure on Milton after, but 4 sacks before
DeleteChecked out is an opinion, but I was referring to your use of that logic with regard to Rudock. Clemson benched DJ and went with the TrFR for the Orange Bowl, signaling "F it, let's work on next year"
DJ was benched in the acc champ game and transferred before the orange bowl. This is like saying Michigan said f it focus on next year in 2022 and 2020... Or Alabama said f it when they benched hurts
DeleteHe was also benched during the year, but always went back in
DeleteJoe got benchrd in 2020, and didn't go back in until Cade's injury ... it did not go well
It's 2023 and you are hung up on 2020. A lot has changed.
DeleteUIAGALELEI started all year and attempted 20 passes in every game UNTIL the ACC champ game, where he got 2 ineffective drives and was replaced by Klubnik, who won the game. Uiagalelei did not throw another pass for Clemson and left the team before the bowl game.
I think you have a strange definition of "getting benched" -- do you consider Lloyd Carr to have benched Tom Brady? Did Harbaugh bench Patterson when he used running QBs for some drives?
Klubnik was the number 1 QB recruit in the country in 2022 and he is better than Uiagalelei. DJ U got beat out, just like Milton got beat out, just like Cade McNamara got beat out. It's not an indication that the team gave up - because they made that decision in the ACC title game. Sometimes the best decision for the future is also the best decision for the present.
Anyway, you were wrong about Hooker not being a good QB - he was a Heisman finalist and is considered a 2nd or 3rd round NFL draft pick. You made that claim because you wanted to denounce Milton, instead of recognizing that it was a surprising accomplishment that he was named the starter at Tennessee in 21. Hooker was an EXCELLENT college QB and there's no more shame in Milton not beating him out than Henson not beating out Brady or McNamara not beating out McCarthy (different examples here, made to illustrate the range that Milton could fit in).
Milton's performance in 22 is impressive enough to make him a pre-season Heisman contender in 23. I don't think that's going to happen and neither do you but the point is that Milton is legit enough, already, to have proved the doubters after 20 wrong.
Those who though Milton was horrible and McNamara vastly superior will get to see that "competition" continue in different places in 2023.
Milton could get beat out by a stud freshman this year, just like Uiagalelei did. But by starting at powerhouse programs over 3 different seasons, and being chosen at various points by elite QB developers in Harbaugh and Heipel, Milton has already proven anyone who said "he should go to D3" wrong.
DeleteLank, I didn't bring up 2020, you did ... I had to stop reading your diary when you followed up by going all the way back to Lloyd Carr
DeleteGo Blue Lank, enjoy the off-season
It's going great so far.
DeleteI totally understand your reasoning for ranking KB this low, but I think he is a candidate for a major leap. He might end up being too good to keep on the bench for long. I know we’re blessedly super-deep almost everywhere, but players with that level of production tend to see the field (Michael Barrett, Grant Perry, and several other examples), especially if they have the requisite dawg.
ReplyDeleteIn my most likely scenario, he gets in three or four redshirt games, has a *wow* flashy moment during garbage time of a non-con, then goes back on the shelf to develop his body for an eventual position switch.
He’s also my pick to have the largest leap in TTB ranking over a career.
—Joby
I mean, anything's possible, but I don't know why he would get much time in garbage time and I don't know what type of flashy moment he would have. Michigan already has a more physically ready running QB (Alex Orji) to do some of those garbage time runs, which both Orji and Dan Villari have done over the past couple seasons. And Davis Warren needs game reps in case he's going to be the bridge between McCarthy and Jadyn Davis (or in case he's needed later in the season), so I don't foresee them wasting reps on guys who are further down the depth chart. They didn't even bother with Jayden Denegal getting on the field last season because Denegal was such a project.
DeleteDef a candidate for a record-breaking leap in TTB ranks, IMO.
Deletei don't think garbage time reps are going to move the needle for Warren one way or the other. Probably more value in letting a freshman see the field a bit TBH, even if he's a deep bench guy. New red-shirt rules make it a "why not" situation.
Denegal played against UConn, along with 7 other QBs.
Deletehttps://www.si.com/college/2022/09/18/michigan-wolverines-quarterbacks-uconn-huskies
@ Lank 10:28 p.m.
DeleteIf Warren is the #2 quarterback, he needs game reps when the game is in hand. You're not just going to jump from #1 down to the #4 QB in garbage time.
I am on record here as really liking Kendrick Bell. This is a good spot for him, he's got nothing to do this year but get bigger, stronger and work on footwork and fundamentals.
DeleteI also think he's gonna make Jadyn Davis work his boney butt off to get past him on the following logic:
Two 72% passers, one way coached up on everything, the other not so much. How accurate might Bell become when he knows when and where the easy throws are and gets his feet working correctly in the pocket.
One can run, the other, not so much. How much more diverse and subsequently dangerous is our offense with a guy that can get out and make yards with his feet?
But not for a couple (hopefully) years.
Milton has yet to prove anything other than he can't hold the starting Qb position on a power 5 football team.
If he gets it done for a full season, then you got a claim.
Michigan played 8 QBs in a game last year, so I don't think they prioritize giving maximum garbage snaps to number 2. Development happens in practice.
Delete