The Wolverine

November 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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74 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2019 J im Harbaugh's hands went up to signal touchdown — just as quickly, they made their way down to the top of his head in disbelief. Michigan's stirring second-half comeback in State College had come to a halt on a fourth- down drop by sophomore Ronnie Bell, one of the kids most responsible for U-M's outstanding performance over the final 30 minutes in a 28-21 loss at Penn State Oct. 19. Bell's fate is the latest edi- tion of "life's not fair when it comes to sports, or anything else." If it were, Bell would have made the catch, extended the game and probably sent it to overtime. Instead, he was the victim of social media vitriol from so-called Michigan "fans" who hide behind monikers to rip on 19- and 20-year-olds. Not that it's ever acceptable, but Bell should have been the last guy to receive such hatred, dropped ball or not. For four quarters he battled on every single play, catching four passes for 71 yards, includ- ing a 35-yarder on which he slipped several tackles and made it to the PSU 5-yard line to set up U-M's final touchdown. There's nobody on the receiving corps who hustles more — maybe nobody on the entire offense or team — and had it not been for a sketchy ineligible man downfield call, his effort also would have re- sulted in a deflected ball touchdown on yet another play on which he didn't give up. "We would take as many Ron- nie Bells as we could possibly get on this team," Harbaugh said days after the loss. "How far he's come, what he does for our team, the way he played in the game … he was one of our top performers [and is] con- sistently, game in and game out. "… He's tough as nails; mentally as tough as anybody we've got, physically, the same. We'd take as many Ronnie Bells as possible." They say luck is where prepara- tion meets opportunity, and it's no coincidence that Bell is usually in the right place at the right time. He's the guy who never quits on a play, and frankly, some of the higher- rated prospects on his own team over the years (including this one) could take a lesson from him on what it means to wear the uniform. In the day and age of the transfer portal, sitting out bowl games and threatening to "shut it down for my NFL future" instead of playing for the uniform, Bell is everything but that — the consummate team player. "You talk about a guy that's a team guy, wears his emotions in his play, and he goes out there and he's working as hard as he can to get open on the last offensive play of the game," senior tackle Carlo Kemp said. "Sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Everyone is going to look at that play and be like, 'Ronnie!' "That's not how the game works. Look at the season; look at the game. He's out there and he's blocking for his team- mates, he's helping people get open, and he's the guy that gets us going. He's coming to the defense and he's getting us motivated, and it's not even if he's saying something. It's him high-fiving us. He's like, 'We got you — we're good,' and we're like, 'We got you too.'" Why does that matter? Be- cause Kemp is the defense's version of Bell in that respect, another guy who gets that Michigan football is bigger than any one player, any one coach, just as former head coach Bo Schembechler used to preach throughout his tenure. Guys notice which of their teammates care just as much as those who don't, and nobody cares more than these two; ditto junior end (and future captain — bank it) Kwity Paye, who also came to Bell's defense. "I just [told Bell] to keep his head up," Paye said of his post-PSU message. "He played extremely well that game. Without Ronnie in that game, I don't know if we are able to close that gap we had." And he's right. In fact, Bell has been the team's best receiver this year even though he's generally considered the "fourth" (at best) guy behind a trio of NFL hopefuls. Mark this down — if Patterson and company are in the same posi- tion in other games this year, they won't hesitate to call No. 8's number again. He's earned the trust that, drop or not, he will probably be right where he's supposed to be. Here's hoping he gets that chance and makes the most of it. ❑ Chris Balas has been with The Wolver- ine since 1997, working part time for five years before joining the staff full time in 2002. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @Balas_Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN   CHRIS BALAS This Bell Will Ring Again Jim Harbaugh recently said of sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell: "We would take as many Ronnie Bells as we could pos- sibly get on this team." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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