Fresh off ACL injury, Bell earns MVP tag from Harbaugh

Coming back from an ACL injury is never a sure thing.

For Ronnie Bell, though, the show goes on.

Bell, a former Missouri State basketball commit, ended up at Michigan as a football player when the Wolverines' staff discovered his tape, which included a superb leaping ability. Out of nowhere, U-M offered a relative unknown who later became the program's unequivocal top wideout.

That was easy to say heading into last year when the Wolverines were coming off of a 2-4 season with a team that, on paper, didn't look like it was going to everything Michigan football hadn't done under Jim Harbaugh, Brady Hoke, or Rich Rodriguez.

Now, off of a Big Ten title, if Bell is unquestionably the offense's best weapon, that holds more weight. For one, Michigan is, well, better. But even more so because on a punt return against Western Michigan in Week 1 last season, the senior wideout tore his ACL and missed the final 13 games.

Bell is back like he never left after a year away from the game, and even with the repaired ACL and a year out of pads, he looks like the go-to wideout Cade McNamara thought he would have last season.

At a press conference in Ann Arbor earlier this week, Harbaugh was asked who he would choose as the MVP of fall camp so far.

"Ronnie Bell has been tremendous. I mean, there's been a bunch. I won't start naming names, and then I'll leave somebody out. So, there's been quite a few," he said. "Ronnie does jump out as somebody that—he's faster, catching the ball extremely well, and he's stronger. He's been there every day and doing a tremendous job."

One thing missing from the U-M offense last year was a true No. 1 target.

While Cornelius Johnson is good, he doesn't have the athleticism of Bell. And while Andrel Anthony could be the team's most talented wideout, he's only played half a college football season.

So with all the noise surrounding Michigan's quarterback competition, one thing seems left behind.

Whoever it is will have Ronnie Bell: an undoubtable No. 1 target.

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