Ronnie Bell Commits To Michigan
TMI's Brice Marich reports that Park Hill (MO) wide receiver Ronnie Bell has committed to Michigan:
Kansas City (MO.) Park Hill Ronnie Bell was slated to play basketball for the Missouri State Bears, but decided to pursue football and a few weeks later, he landed his biggest offer to date from Michigan. It didn't long for him to ponder the scholarship offer as he pledged to the Wolverines on Monday night.
Bell added his offer on Saturday. I assume because he was expected to play hoops in college, nobody's done a full scouting report yet; Rivals just created his profile, ESPN hasn't even gotten that far, and 247 only has articles since the Michigan offer went out. Bell has some impressive film, though, and numbers to match:
It's somewhat hard to believe that up until December 14, this year's Simone Award winner, given each year to the top football player in the Kansas City metro, was all set to play basketball in college.
That was the case for Ronnie Bell, a talented member of Team Rush (AAU) and once Missouri State commitment. Yet in a stunning announcement, Bell did what football fans had been hoping for since September by rescinding that verbal pledge, officially opening the door to college football.
Well, as you might've guessed, it didn't take long for programs to come calling on the Park Hill Trojan.
After catching 89 passes for 1,605 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior, Bell held an offer from Jim Harbaugh and Michigan within two days of being on the market.
Bell is the 18th commit in the 2018 class and the second in two days following in-state ATH Ben VanSumeren. I'll have a full Hello post on him tomorrow, hopefully after some more evaluations are posted. At first glance, it looks like Michigan got in early on an unheralded football talent. Expect him to finish higher than his current composite ranking of #1517 overall.
December 18th, 2017 at 8:33 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^
He's a basketball player who plays football. Probably doesn't know the fundamentals yet.
December 19th, 2017 at 8:30 AM ^
catch 89 passes for 1,600+ yards. But your point is well taken. His football experience is relatively less and will need to continue to work on basic skills to play at the next level.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
Harbaugh to mold? That could be a seriously dangerous player in a couple years.. Wonder if he could do two sports here
December 19th, 2017 at 2:11 PM ^
How does Ronnie compare with Drake Harris? Seems like there's some similarities in their game and story. Would love the insite from someone who knows how to digest high school football film. I'm not that guy. Thanks in advance.
December 18th, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 8:43 PM ^
Any chance he'll try to play basketball too?
December 18th, 2017 at 8:47 PM ^
Don't know anything about the competition, but the kid's stats are very impressive.
http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/ronnie-bell/vboXmzUqEeS00gAmVebEWg/gend…
December 19th, 2017 at 4:18 AM ^
His high school is the #8 team in the state, so competition probably pretty, pretty good.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^
Those in the know can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe he plays in the top division of Missouri high school football.
Also - of note - while I don't know the details about this past year specifically, the KC area has produced some solide college and pro talent recently (not syaing the city is the equivalent of Georgia or anything like that...just saying there are some good players coming out of there).
Here's hoping we caught a good one!
December 19th, 2017 at 1:32 PM ^
Correct, Park Hill is Class 6, the largest in Missouri. They made it to the state semifinals this year:
https://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictWinners.aspx?alg=19&class=6
December 18th, 2017 at 8:48 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 8:58 PM ^
Love Jim Harbaugh
Wouldnt trade hime for any other coach in America
Couldnt think of a guy who's a better fit for Michigan
Think we're going to have one hell of a team next year - I'M very bullish on our immediate prospects
But man so far I'm pretty underwhelmed by our 2018 class. Not this kid specifically buit the class in general is not very impressive. Ranked #17 consensus before the two recent 3* commits (high of 13 - low of 27) we are currently just barely ahead of Minnesota and Maryland and behind Kentucky.
Not what I expected. And I hope not what Harbaugh expected.
December 19th, 2017 at 9:40 AM ^
I would have expected more top talent to want to come this year. But some people have said that with the two massive classes the previous two years that 18' kids might not want to come here without looking like they would have immediate playing time, and we're not OSU/Bama where the team wins 95% of the games and puts a large amount of players into the NFL every year.
Starting to get the NFL part down, now just got to get the winning down.
December 18th, 2017 at 9:06 PM ^
The new coach surge has worn off.
On field results and recruiting prowess (please let the 10th coach be a great recruiter) will have to make high-rated kids want to come to Michigan.
I just hope we don't look at the 2018 class like we do with the 2015 and 2014 classes a few years down the road.
December 18th, 2017 at 9:39 PM ^
Commits for 2019 validate your theory:
https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Season/2019-Football/Commits
December 19th, 2017 at 12:58 AM ^
That's fine. 2018 could be a blip.
December 19th, 2017 at 1:48 AM ^
Username soooooo does not check out.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:58 AM ^
which was also coming off two huge and highly rated classes.
But it won't be a big deal because instead of a transition year disaster following this one up, we should have a great 2019 class. You can be just fine with one class that isn't elite (and let's be honest, a top 20 class is still solid). You just can't have two in a row combined with high attrition like we did in 2014 and 2015.
Hey everybody! Clemson's 2014 class was ranked a modest 16th with zero 5 stars, 10 4 stars and 9 three stars (with only 20 total). And look what they did when that class was So's (nat'l runner up), Jr's (won natnl title) and Sr's (number one ranked CFP team, finish TBD).
We're going to be juuuuust fine.
December 19th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
I think Alabama's dominant run somewhat tinged people's expectations for recruiting. Most teams don't pull in top-5 classes every year; due to size, some misses, different priorities, etc., you can have a lower-rated class that turns out fine. This class feels like one that will be solid depth and maybe a couple of stars, and sandwiched between two top-10 classes and a likely third one in 2019, it's hard to get too worked up about it.
December 19th, 2017 at 7:26 AM ^
You can't be serious with that dummass statement, right? I mean, this is the 12th ranked class in the country! The 2014 class was 19th (w/ 16 players) and 2015 was 48th (w/ 14 players). And it's not even finished yet!
You should step back from the 'everything is crushing defeat' ledge...
December 19th, 2017 at 9:00 AM ^
Saying "I'm underwhelmed" equates to "everything is crushing defeat"? Seriously???
And for the record e are NOT the 12th ranked class in America right now - we are consensus #17 (high of #13 on ESPN and low of #27 on Rivals) http://usatodayhss.com/2017/usa-today-sports-2018-composite-team-footba…;
One of things I absoultely HATE about this board is some people will tolerate absoultely no comment that even suggests that things could ever be done any better by Michigan or Harbaugh without making comments like "everything is crushing defeat". I DIDNT SAY OR IMPLY THAT. I said I was "underwhelmed" and if you're not underwhelmed by a blended #17th ranked recruiting class that's getting beaten by fucking Kentucky and only barely ahead of Minnesota & Maryland than I cant help you.
Your'e maize n blue glasses have left you blind.
BTW, I'm not sure how old your are but based on your excitement at Michigan reaching the lofty perch of #17 in recruiting I'm guess you're <25 meaning you've never really seen Michigan be MICHIGAN the way they used to be. Well guess what - back in the ancient 90's, when we fucking OWNED OSU the way they OWN us today we kicked their fucking ass in recruiting year after year after year: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/searnfootballforum/just-for-fun-some-re….
Cause raw talent does matter. And while getting the occasional "diamond in the rough" every now and then is nice - you cant build an elite program on them (see Tide, Crimson or State, Ohio) for a reference point.
December 19th, 2017 at 10:27 AM ^
concerned about what a bunch of guys on Rivals or any other website think of our recruiting class. They have never coached these kids. They don't know what intangibles the coaches at UM are looking for and what needs they feel they need to fill in this class.
If you think Harbaugh is the right man then trust what he sees in these kids and what he feels they can bring to this program and what their role will be on the team and less concerned about what some desk jockey at rivals thinks of a kid he watches film of.....
December 19th, 2017 at 11:52 AM ^
December 19th, 2017 at 12:58 PM ^
You're outrage is fake because it's directed at the wrong person. I replied to this statement:
"I just hope we don't look at the 2018 class like we do with the 2015 and 2014 classes a few years down the road."
Written by Occam's Razor. Follow the indentations back up. That is an assinine statement, whether you want to be outraged by it, or not.
So tell me where I said you're not allowed to be underwhelmed.
...
Still waiting...
I hate comments like yours because you don't even know who your shitting on, let alone why you're shitting. Feel free to be underwhelmed, but don't tell me things are "UNACCEPTABLE!!!" because they're not. No, they're as good as everyone would like, but this isn't recruiting like at the end of Hoke, either... Get a grip, man!
BTW, I've been watching Michigan football since the early 70's. I'm well versed in the history and how things have played out on the field. You should probably go eat some Xanax, calm down a little. Maybe take a closer look at what you're replying to before going all apeshit over nothing.
December 18th, 2017 at 11:40 PM ^
December 19th, 2017 at 1:08 AM ^
I think of this as reversion to the mean. We had exceptional classes when Coach Harbaugh was the new hotness. Now that he's an established Michigan coach, we have the classes that one would expect of a Michigan team that performs as ours has. That's not a horrible development, since it's probably temporary. If you believe as I do that this year tracked expectations because of certain remaining Hoke-holes, young players, and bad luck, then you probably also believe 2018 will be *much* better. If it does, recruiting will follow.
With regard to this kid, well, that's what Harbaugh does well -- he and his staff are pretty good at identifying talent that hasn't necessarily been recognized already, and he has a taste for multi-dimensional athletes. If you agree with that, then you also have to acknowledge that this reduces the ranking of the class relative to the talent within it.
December 19th, 2017 at 9:07 AM ^
December 19th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
we end up ranked in the top 15. Many of the top players are still uncommitted and none will likely be committing to us so most of the other classes around us will be moving up.
December 19th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
http://usatodayhss.com/2017/usa-today-sports-2018-composite-team-footba…
24/7: Ranks Michigan #19
ESPN: Ranks Michigan #13
Rivals: Ranks Michigan #27
Scout: Ranks Michigan #13
Composite: #17
For the record i personally recruted for Michigan from 1992-1994 here in Northern Ohio. The three years I was involved in the program we did just a wee bit better:
1992: Michigan #4
1993: Michigan #3
1994: Michigan #4
And also for the record the team that currently sits at #1 in recruiting for 2018 did a wee bit worse those same years
1992: OSU #6
1993: Did not make top 10 (only top 10 teams were counted back then)
1994: OSU #9
Oh...did I mention we used to kick their fucking ass every year back then too? Funny how that works - get superior players and then win the games. Huh.....wonder why that is.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^
I don't disagree about rankings mattering (though I'd argue that recruiting 20+ years ago is a hell of a lot different than now, so looking at rankings now is a bit like looking at other stats), but Michigan never "kicked they fucking asses every year" back then. They beat them more times than not, but they were usually close, competitive games. Almost like the past couple of years, where Michigan played OSU close and could have won with a couple of breaks.
I get that this class is underwhelming, but people keep pointing it out in every recruiting post as if people don't already know. It's not a super highly-rated class; it's still pretty good. If they were coming off 2 other underwhelming classes, by all means sound the alarm. But this looks like one class that is small and doesn't have star power; 2019 and 2020 look very promising, and a solid next year should help recruiting as well. But it does bother me that these threads welcoming a new recruit to the team are always full of "I mean, nothing personal to the kids signed, but this isn't a good class" comments, which are 100% shitting on the current recruits for no good reason except to ring the most annoying and obvious bell one more time.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
Well stated.
December 20th, 2017 at 1:04 AM ^
They are taking the overall class projection by each service and then doing a simple average. This is not a valid methodology because of the differences in the point systems used by each service.
The 247 composite is the gold standard because they first equalize the points for each player - this creates an apples to apples comparison across services - and then calculate points based on the impact on the class.
This is actually the first time I have seen someone use the USA composite [I didn't even know they did a composite]. Our overall class number on this composite is being dragged down by a very shading looking 27 ranking on Rivals - I know they rank our two 4* OTs very lowly, but I would still need to look review their calculations to see how they come up with that aggregate class ranking.
December 18th, 2017 at 8:58 PM ^
December 19th, 2017 at 12:59 AM ^
you mutherfuuuuuuuuuu
December 18th, 2017 at 8:59 PM ^
Nice. Got to love a receiver with basketball skills to get above the dbs and high point the ball. GO BLUE!
December 18th, 2017 at 9:02 PM ^
Given recent recruiting developments, someone is going to need to hold all the stargazers. They'll be at high risk of soiling themselves for a few days.
December 18th, 2017 at 9:04 PM ^
December 19th, 2017 at 1:13 AM ^
Yeah, if you're a star-counter, you'll miss this kid and that would be a shame. I'm not sure whether or not he has elite speed. To me, it seemed like he did in this video, but it's hard to tell given the performance of those chasing him. His hands certainly look good and he has good, instinctive moves, which is what I'll bet Harbaugh liked. Seems like he needs much better ball protection and needs much more muscle. Those are things that can be developed so he could be a great addition.
December 18th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
I really liked the elusiveness he showed on film and think there could be some great mad scientist stuff they can do with him. Thought I saw some good "in a phonebooth" moves and that could make for some fun times on screens.
Top player in Kansas City aint bad either, I like this and can't wait to see what he does here at Michigan.
Welcome Aboard!
December 18th, 2017 at 9:09 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 11:17 PM ^
He will be a db by 2020.
December 19th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
Idk.. Lack of elite speed and those hops screams red zone target/slot aficionado. I'm sure he will get a shot at both sides of the ball.
December 19th, 2017 at 9:13 AM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 9:16 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 9:19 PM ^
December 18th, 2017 at 9:22 PM ^
"Quantity has a quality all its own."
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