Michigan Football Signee Honored Before NFL Playoff Game
After a phenomenal senior season, quarterback Kendrick Bell - younger brother of former Michigan wideout Ronnie Bell - was honored prior to Saturday's playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 6-3, 180 pound gunslinger out of Park Hill High School recently won the Thomas A. Simone award, given to the best all-around player in the Kansas City area. Although the Trojans finished with a record of just 3-8 during his senior year, Bell put together an impressive season statistically. He completed 224-of-339 pass attempts for over 3200 yards and 35 touchdowns, along with 670 rushing yards and another 10 TD's on the ground.
Though talented, Bell is certainly far from being considered one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. According to 247Sports composite rankings, the 3-star recruit is the No. 1,031 ranked overall player in the nation, the No. 85 ranked overall athlete, and the No. 23 overall player in the state of Missouri.
If he does end up making a lot of noise at the University of Michigan as an underrated recruit, he wouldn't be the first Bell to do so. His older brother, Ronnie, was one of the lowest rated recruits of the Harbaugh-era. In fact, he nearly opted to play Division 2 basketball until he received his first (and only) offer to play Division 1 football. That offer came from the University of Michigan.
After five seasons in Ann Arbor, Ronnie (a four-year letterman) made 31 starts at the wide receiver position, worked his way to becoming a team captain, was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, a two-time Big Ten Champion, and is now headed for the NFL Draft.
It remains to be seen what Kendrick's collegiate career will look like by the time it's all said and done, but there's plenty of reason for Michigan fans to be excited about the potential.
