INDIANAPOLIS — Despite back-to-back wins over arch-rivals Ohio State and back-to-back Big Ten titles, Ronnie Bell chose to stay outside the norm this week when asked about his favorite college moment.
The star Michigan recipient opted for something personal, a moment from fall camp in Ann Arbor when life seemed a little more normal.
“When I could go out and practice again,” Bell told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine Friday. “I remember just jumping, falling, just being so happy.”
He had fully recovered from a cruciate ligament tear that sidelined him for much of the 2021 season, a year that helped revitalize football in Michigan and put the Wolverines back in national title talks.
Bell was a key figure in navigating those disappointing 2019 and 2020 seasons, evolving into a respected, playable threat from the outside. Now, as we stood on a podium during the week-long Combine event designed to give NFL personnel an up-close and personal look at this year’s draft prospects, things came full circle for the 5-foot-11, 192-pound bells .
“You dream of this experience,” he said. “Every night you take a step back and realize how lucky you are — how blessed you are — to be doing everything you’ve really worked for. For my dream of having the NFL so close — right on the edge of my fingertips — it’s the real deal.”
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Michigan wide receiver Ronnie Bell (8) runs after a catch Saturday, December 31, 2022 during the Fiesta Bowl against TCU at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Michigan lost 45-51. (Neil Blake | MLive.com)
Frankly, football wasn’t always in the cards for Bell, a dual-sport star at Park High School in Kansas City. He was planning to go to Missouri on a basketball scholarship when an interested Jim Harbaugh called, acting on a tip from an extended family member.
Then everything changed.
“When I was in Kansas City, the biggest thing was just playing college football in general,” said Bell, a two-time All Big Ten honoree. “That was the first step. Once I was on the next level, the next dream was to be here.”
Bell’s athleticism and ability to open up so impressed the Michigan coaches that he played as a true freshman in all 13 games of his season. 2019 followed a breakout year in which he led the team in catches (48) and receiving yards (758) en route to being named the team’s Offensive Skill Player of the Year, and followed again in 2020 with a team-best 26 catches and 401 reception yards during an abbreviated schedule.
That stayed until 2021, the year Bell would take over and go to the NFL draft. Then the injury happened in Week 1 of the season during a harmless looking tackle on a punt return against Western Michigan.
“When I took that step back last year, it kind of gave me a different perspective on the game and life,” Bell said. “I feel like a grown me as a person and as a man to really step in now and have more confidence.”
Bell enters the NFL draft as part of another talented wide receiver class. He won’t be a Day 1 pick and will likely be relegated to the slots and specialty teams, but he did enough at the Senior Bowl to deserve attention as a potential player worthy of playing at the next level.
Ironically, this year’s NFL draft will be held April 27-29 in Kansas City, his hometown, where Bell could be heard calling his name in front of a large group of family and friends.
“It doesn’t even feel real,” Bell said. “It kind of comes full circle when you think about the timeline and how it all unfolded when I came out this year. Definitely just very, very excited about it.”
How’s that for a fairytale ending?
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