Photo Credit: John Sleezer/jsleezer@kcstar.com

New Michigan Man: WR Ronnie Bell Commits to Michigan

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Every recruiting class has surprise commitments but not too many have multiple surprise commitments. But this 2018 Michigan football recruiting class is already a bit of a different one. And now it just became even more interesting as former basketball recruit, Park Hill (MO) WR Ronnie Bell, has committed to Michigan just two days after receiving his offer from the staff.

Commitment 

Scouting Report 

Bell is a former basketball recruit (actually was committed to Missouri State) so it’s no shock that he’s a pretty ridiculous athlete. While he’s not a burner, he’s an athletic receiver with a huge vertical, the knack to make circus catches and the agility to pick up a lot of yards after the catch. He’s still pretty raw in his route running but that’s understandable as a player that only decided to fully focus on football just two days before making his commitment. Add in his ability and willingness to block and you can see why Harbaugh was a fan of his game.

With a deep depth chart in front of him and time needed in the weight room and on the practice field, it’s hard to see Bell making an impact immediately. He looks likely to be a developmental guy that will see his career start on special teams and potentially develop into a well-rounded receiver later on in his career.

Recruitment 

Michigan added HB Ben VanSumeren three days after offering him just a day ago. But VanSumeren was a football recruit that had recruiting profiles and offers from other schools. Bell wasn’t that. Like mentioned above, he was actually a basketball recruit and commit up until the day he received his offer from the Michigan staff on December 16th. He committed to Michigan on December 18th without even making a formal announcement but just putting “University of Michigan Commit” in his Twitter profile.

So, there wasn’t a ton to his recruitment. But just like that, he’s the 18th commit in the class and, according to TMI’s Steve Lorenz, he’ll be signing with Michigan at the early signing period ($).

  • Height: 6’1”
  • Weight: 170lbs
  • Hometown (School): Kansas City, MO (Park Hill)
  • Notable Offers: None
  • Rankings: Rivals (N/A) – 247Sports (3*, #159 WR) – ESPN (2*, #125 WR)
  • Composite Ranking: Three star, #1517 overall, #225 WR, #19 in Missouri

Highlights

As for the Rest of the Class 

Bell is the 18th overall commitment, first wide receiver commitment and the second commit out of Missouri. With limited room in the class and unsure wide receiver targets left on the board, there’s a good chance he’s the only receiver in this class. The only names that look to be even a slight possibilities to add to the class would be WR JaMarr Chase and ATH Talanoa Hufanga.

Photo Credit: John Sleezer/jsleezer@kcstar.com

Garrett Fishaw
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