Kendrick Bell has the blood to succeed for Michigan football. Now the WR just needs snaps

There are several reasons why Kendrick Bell has cracked the rotation as No. 16 Michigan football's third wide receiver.

To start with, the room was thin on bodies in the spring, which gave him extra reps to work his way up the depth chart. Then there's his past as as a high school quarterback, giving him an advanced understanding of offensive concepts that allowed him to grasp the route tree faster than many underclassmen receivers.

But for Ron Bellamy, his position coach, there's one specific reason that sticks out as to why the sophomore has been getting extra playing time early this season: "Smart, sharp — he's a Bell," Bellamy told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Bell, of course, is the younger brother of former Michigan wideout Ronnie Bell, who led the 2022 Wolverines in receptions and receiving yards, finished his time in Ann Arbor with the seventh-most receiving yards in program history and went on to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

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"He took a ton of reps and has grown from that, spring ball, to his summer development," Bellamy added of the younger Bell. "Him getting with Ronnie and came back this fall camp, had a great fall camp and now put himself in position to compete for a starting job.

"For us, guys you can count on and are reliable, those are the guys you're putting on the field."

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the younger Bell has caught on quickly.

As a senior at Park Hill High in Kansas City, Missouri, Bell won the "Thomas A. Simone Award," given annually to the city's best player. He has trained with his brother for years. Also, his time on U-M's scout team last season featured reps against future NFL-level defensive backs in Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil and Josh Wallace.

All of it led to the 2024 spring game, when he caught a head-turning 42-yard bomb for a touchdown from the Wolverines' eventual starting quarterback, Davis Warren.

The signs have been there for some time, which is why the redshirt freshman said he was just waiting for his time.

"I feel like I had a really good spring ... and then a good week of practice," Bell said Tuesday night. "After that first catch, coach Bellamy was like, 'You ready?' I was like, 'I'm ready,' so I feel like I did well and that I earned those snaps."

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Bell caught his first collegiate pass for 11 yards against Fresno State on Aug. 31. He caught another Saturday against Texas. It was only for 7 yards and came on the first drive of the fourth quarter — when Michigan was already down, 31-6 — but the catch against a Longhorns DB (one of two "contested" catches for U-M receivers in the loss) suggests more is in store.

Bell was on the field for 39 plays vs. the Longhorns, according to Pro Football Focus, second-most among U-M receivers, and behind only Tyler Morris (40).

Bell's development is important because, so far, U-M's wideouts have been a liability. Through two games, Semaj Morgan leads Wolverines receivers with 53 yards, and more than half of those (31) came on a TD when U-M trailed Texas by 25 points with two minutes to play.

No other U-M receiver has more than five catches or 35 yards.

Despite the Wolverines' heightened sense of urgency as they prepares for Arkansas State the wideouts are toeing the line between wanting a bigger impact and knowing there are other pass-catchers on the roster. Namely, tight end Colston Loveland.

"Of course we all want to get more targets, but we also understand C-Love is the best tight end in the country, arguably the best player in the country," Bell said. "He gives us a good shot to win, so we ain't gonna complain, we're gonna do whatever we got to do to have the team win."

Michigan's offense, which ranks No. 122 nationally in scoring, is not going to be fixed overnight. It's also not going to be fixed by force-feeding the ball to receivers.

U-M coaches have said the Wolverines have to get back to their roots of running the football early and often. But a wideout who can stretch the field the way Bell did in the spring game is a big help.

"After practice, you see him on the JUGS, working footwork, refining his skills," Bellamy said. "He's definitely a little bit more mature beyond his years as a receiver ... then his athletic traits definitely help him out tremendously."

Punter problems

The Wolverines' special teams unit ranks No. 4 in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus.

That ranking would likely be even higher had U-M's punt unit operated more efficiently over the first two games this season. Senior Tommy Doman has punted six times, with his longest going just 44 yards; only twice has he pinned the opponent inside the 20 yard line.

Doman's average punt length has been just 37.8 yards with a hang time of 4.25 seconds. Division I punters generally aim for at least 42 yards a punt with a hang time of 4.3 seconds or more.

"He's had a really good practice week," special teams coordinator J.B. Brown said. "We've done a couple different things in practice to help him get into a better rhythm. We will continue to make his pre-game routine a little bit different just to get him started a little bit earlier.

"I think he's on the right track, looking forward to what he does this week."

Last season, Doman punted 36 time for 1,618 yards, averaging 44.9 yards per attempt and a hangtime of 4.36 seconds. This season, although only one punt of his punts has been (for 3 yards), he is well off that.

Against Texas, Doman punted twice and averaged just 32 yards per attempt, which included a 28-yard dud that bounced backwards. Still, from Brown's report this week, there doesn't appear to be a punter change coming.

But Brown is trying to help Doman straddle the line between focus and relaxation.

"No doubt, I think there's a fine line," Brown said. "I don't think Tommy's failed, I think he just has to prove it each and every Saturday."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kendrick Bell has the blood to succeed for Michigan football. Now the WR just needs snaps