Ronnie Bell (American football)

Ronnie Bell
refer to caption
Bell playing with Michigan against Michigan State in 2019
Personal information
Born: (2000-01-28) January 28, 2000 (age 24)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Park Hill
(Kansas City, Missouri)
College:Michigan (2018–2022)
Position:Wide receiver
NFL draft:2023 / round: 7 / pick: 253
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2024
Receptions:7
Receiving yards:80
Receiving touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Ronald Bell (born January 28, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. 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 life

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

Season Team Conf G Receiving Rushing Returns
Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD
2018 Michigan Big Ten 13 8 145 18.1 2 5 -2 -0.4 0 4 60 15.0 0
2019 Michigan Big Ten 13 48 758 15.8 1 1 9 9.0 0 8 67 8.4 0
2020 Michigan Big Ten 6 26 401 15.4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 Michigan Big Ten 1 1 76 76.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 31 31.0 0
2022 Michigan Big Ten 14 62 889 14.3 4 3 23 7.7 1 2 45 22.5 0
Career 47 145 2,269 15.6 9 9 30 3.3 1 15 203 13.5 0
All values from Michigan Athletics[16]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+5⁄8 in
(1.82 m) 		191 lb
(87 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 4.54 s 1.52 s 2.57 s 4.04 s 6.62 s 38.5 in
(0.98 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 14 reps
Sources:[17][18]

Bell was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round, 253rd overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.[19] He was the last of nine Wolverines drafted in 2023.[20]

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.[21] 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.[22][23] He appeared in all 17 games as rookie. He finished with six receptions for 68 yards and three touchdowns.[24] On November 29, 2024, Bell was waived by the 49ers.[25]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career best

Regular season

Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2023 SF 17 0 6 68 11.3 20 3 1 0
Career 17 0 6 68 11.3 20 3 1 0

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ronnie Bell (American football).
  1. ^ Sang, Orion (October 11, 2018). "Bell reaps the rewards after switching sports". Detroit Free Press. p. 9C. Retrieved August 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Wheeler, Wyatt D. (December 15, 2017). "Bears basketball recruit Bell decommits from MSU, opts to play football". Springfield News-Leader. p. D1. Retrieved August 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Sang, Orion (August 29, 2019). "U-M wide receiver Bell primed for big year". Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. p. B2. Retrieved August 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Ronnie Bell". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  5. ^ 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. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Selasky, Susan (October 23, 2019). "Students write notes to cheer Michigan football's Ronnie Bell: 'Don't listen to the haters'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (October 21, 2019). "Harbaugh, Wolverines have Ronnie Bell's back: He's 'tough as nails'". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Knapp, Brandon (November 16, 2019). "Ronnie Bell's 2019 season showing he's the true number one WR". USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (November 16, 2019). "Ronnie Bell rings up 'tough plays' in career game for Wolverines". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "2019 Football Cumulative Statistics". University of Michigan. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Thirteen Michigan Players Honored by Big Ten on Offense". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "2020 Michigan Wolverines Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  13. ^ Hole, Isaiah (December 12, 2021). "Ronnie Bell details his knee injury, rehabilitation process". USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  14. ^ "Michigan 31-10 Indiana (Oct 8, 2022) Box Score". ESPN.com. October 8, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "2022 Michigan Football Statistics". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  16. ^ "Ronnie Bell". mgoblue.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Ronnie Bell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Ronnie Bell College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  19. ^ 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". 49ers.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  20. ^ White, Scotty (May 1, 2023). "The Wolverines led the Big Ten with nine players drafted". Maize n Brew. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  21. ^ FantasyPros (September 22, 2023). "Ronnie Bell finds end zone in Week 3". 5th Down Fantas. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers - January 7th, 2024". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "Rams 21-20 49ers (Jan 7, 2024) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  24. ^ "Ronnie Bell 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  25. ^ "49ers Waive WR Ronnie Bell". 49ers.com. November 29, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.