Ronnie Bell (American football) explained

Ronnie Bell
Current Team:San Francisco 49ers
Number:10
Position:Wide receiver
Birth Date:28 January 2000
Birth Place:Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:190
High School:Park Hill
(Kansas City, Missouri)
College:Michigan (2018–2022)
Draftyear:2023
Draftround:7
Draftpick:253
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Receptions
Statvalue1:6
Statlabel2:Receiving yards
Statvalue2:68
Statlabel3:Receiving touchdowns
Statvalue3:3
Pfr:BellRo01

Ronald Bell (born January 28, 2000) is an American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning offensive rookie of the year in 2018, and named an All-Big Ten selection in 2022. He was selected by the 49ers in the 2023 NFL draft.

Early years

Bell was a multi-sport athlete at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Missouri. As a senior, he caught 89 passes for 1,605 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he was not ranked in the top 1,000 high school football recruits. He originally committed as a basketball player to Missouri State University. After initially receiving no Division I FBS scholarship offers to play football, he was recruited late by Jim Harbaugh and in December 2017 committed to play football for the University of Michigan.[1] [2]

College career

Bell enrolled at Michigan in 2018. As a freshman, he had eight receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard touchdown reception against Nebraska.[3] At the end of the 2018 season, he received the offensive rookie of the year award.[4]

As a sophomore in 2019, Bell led the team with 81 receiving yards against Army, 81 yards against Wisconsin, 83 yards against Rutgers, 98 yards against Illinois, and 82 yards against Penn State.[4] After dropping a game-tying pass in the end zone in the closing minutes against Penn State, Bell received national attention for the angry reaction by a Michigan fan and the subsequent rally of fan support behind him.[5] [6] [7]

Against Michigan State on November 16, 2019, Bell had a career-high 150 receiving yards (117 in the first half) on nine catches.[8] [9] For the 2019 season, he was the Wolverines' leading receiver with 48 receptions for 758 yards.[10] Following the 2019 season, Bell was named an honorable mention all-conference selection by the media.[11]

In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, he was Michigan's leading receiver for the second consecutive year with 26 receptions and 401 receiving yards.[12]

Bell's 2021 season ended when he sustained a knee injury in the season opener.[13]

Against Indiana on October 8, 2022, Bell caught 11 passes for 121 yards.[14] During the 2022 regular season, Bell was the team's leading receiver for the third time in his career with 62 receptions and 889 receiving yards.[15]

College statistics

SeasonTeamConfReceivingRushingReturns
RecYdsAvgTDAttYdsAvgTDRetYdsAvgTD
2018MichiganBig Ten13814518.125-2-0.4046015.00
2019MichiganBig Ten134875815.81199.008678.40
2020MichiganBig Ten62640115.4100000000
2021MichiganBig Ten117676.01000013131.00
2022MichiganBig Ten146288914.343237.7124522.50
Career471452,26915.699303.311520313.50
All values from Michigan Athletics[16]

Professional career

Bell was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round, 253rd overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.[17] He was the last of nine Wolverines drafted in 2023.[18]

During a Week 3 30–12 victory over the New York Giants, Bell caught his first pass, a 9-yard touchdown reception, from quarterback Brock Purdy. Bell finished the game with two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown.[19] In Week 18 in a 21–20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Bell had a career high 5 targets, thanks to the 49ers sitting their best players due to already clinching the #1 seed in the National Football Conference. He only had one catch, a 5-yard touchdown.[20] [21] He appeared in all 17 games as rookie. He finished with six receptions for 68 yards and three touchdowns.[22]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Sang . Orion . October 11, 2018 . Bell reaps the rewards after switching sports . 9C . Detroit Free Press . August 13, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Wheeler . Wyatt D. . December 15, 2017 . Bears basketball recruit Bell decommits from MSU, opts to play football . D1 . Springfield News-Leader . August 13, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: Sang . Orion . August 29, 2019 . U-M wide receiver Bell primed for big year . B2 . Livingston County Daily Press & Argus . August 13, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Web site: Ronnie Bell . November 16, 2019 . University of Michigan.
  5. News: Sallee . Barrett . October 21, 2019 . Michigan fan apologizes to WR Ronnie Bell for hateful email following loss to Penn State: Bell dropped what would have been the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter . CBS Sports . August 13, 2023.
  6. News: Selasky . Susan . October 23, 2019 . Students write notes to cheer Michigan football's Ronnie Bell: 'Don't listen to the haters' . Detroit Free Press . August 13, 2023.
  7. News: Chengelis . Angelique S. . October 21, 2019 . Harbaugh, Wolverines have Ronnie Bell's back: He's 'tough as nails' . The Detroit News . August 13, 2023.
  8. News: Knapp . Brandon . November 16, 2019 . Ronnie Bell's 2019 season showing he's the true number one WR . USA Today . August 13, 2023.
  9. News: Chengelis . Angelique S. . November 16, 2019 . Ronnie Bell rings up 'tough plays' in career game for Wolverines . The Detroit News . August 13, 2023.
  10. Web site: 2019 Football Cumulative Statistics . January 4, 2020 . University of Michigan.
  11. News: December 4, 2019 . Thirteen Michigan Players Honored by Big Ten on Offense . MGoBlue.com . CBS Interactive . December 4, 2019.
  12. Web site: 2020 Michigan Wolverines Stats . August 13, 2023 . College Football at Sports-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC . en.
  13. News: Hole . Isaiah . December 12, 2021 . Ronnie Bell details his knee injury, rehabilitation process . USA Today . August 13, 2023.
  14. Web site: October 8, 2022 . Michigan 31-10 Indiana (Oct 8, 2022) Box Score . August 13, 2023 . ESPN.com . en.
  15. Web site: 2022 Michigan Football Statistics . November 26, 2022 . University of Michigan.
  16. Web site: Ronnie Bell . February 25, 2021 . mgoblue.com.
  17. Web site: McDonald . Briana . April 29, 2023 . 49ers Select WR Ronnie Bell with the No. 253 Pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Scored his first NFL touchdown on September 21st 2023 in a game against the New York Giants. April 30, 2023 . 49ers.com.
  18. Web site: White . Scotty . 2023-05-01 . The Wolverines led the Big Ten with nine players drafted . 2024-07-01 . Maize n Brew . en.
  19. Web site: FantasyPros . September 22, 2023 . Ronnie Bell finds end zone in Week 3 . September 27, 2023 . 5th Down Fantasy . en-US.
  20. Web site: Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers - January 7th, 2024 . 2024-07-06 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  21. Web site: Rams 21-20 49ers (Jan 7, 2024) Box Score . January 8, 2024 . ESPN . en.
  22. Web site: Ronnie Bell 2023 Game Log . 2024-07-06 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.