Discussing The Ronnie Bell Injury
During the second quarter of Michigan's season opener, after an impressive 31-yard punt return, senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell sustained an injury during what appeared to be a pretty routine tackle. Bell, as tough as he is, tried to stand up but could not. He stayed down for a while, was helped off the field and ultimately carted to the locker room. He did not return.
After the game, Jim Harbaugh was asked about Bell's injury, and you could see the concern on the head coach's face.
"That's a big deal," Harbaugh said. "Ronnie is loved by everybody and is a captain of this football team. What can you say other than you hope for the best and expect the worst and wait until you get the MRI results. No matter what, he'll be back. He's got too much drive not to be."
One of the things that makes the injury so unfortunate, is the fact that Bell is such a fan favorite and popular teammate. Bell was just named a captain last week and clearly got the vote of his quarterback, Cade McNamara.
"He's consistently been a positive energy in the locker room," McNamara said earlier in the week when asked about Bell as a captain. "He's probably one of the most liked guys on the team, for sure."
We likely won't know Bell's status until Monday when Harbaugh speaks to the media, but the injury certainly didn't look good. Bell tried as hard as he could to limp off, but simply couldn't do it. Then, while being carted into the locker room, Bell hung his head in a way that seemed to indicate that he knew it was bad. In the video above, we discuss the impact of Bell's injury, the expectation of others in his potential absence and how him being out would affect Michigan's approach for the Washington game.
