Former Park Hill Trojan and current Michigan WR1 Ronnie Bell has officially declared for the NFL Draft as of today. Bell was a standout in last weekend's national semifinal loss to TCU, amassing 6 catches for 135 yards with a TD and a 2-pt conversion, and has been a longtime stalwart for Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. College career stats tally up to 145 receptions, 2299 all-purpose yards, and 10 TDs, all while being almost completely out for the entire 2021 season (espn.com ) Overall, he had a stellar career at Michigan, as well as a stellar career at Park Hill to boot, amassing 2476 yards on 159 receptions, and totaling a whopping 35 TDs in his 4-year career (maxpreps.com) These high school numbers got him a scholarship from one of the most prestigious schools in the nation in regard to football in Michigan, of where he stood out among the rest as shown. As someone who competed against Ronnie, I wish him all the best in his endeavors with getting to the NFL. I know he's got the skill to be great.
Ronnie's case though should be an example of the type of high school talent the KC area has though, talent that is finally being recognized by local D1 programs. Ronnie could have easily been a Jayhawk, or a Wildcat, or a Tiger, but was only offered by Kansas State among the three, a school that has done this local recruiting thing pretty well for a few years. Ronnie represents the type of talent local D1 programs can find here in the KC area, and it took KU and Missouri getting new coaches and overhauling their athletic departments to notice it finally. Ronnie and other local guys have gone on to find success, such as Jake Springer of Ole Miss, Dillon Thomas of NIU/Missouri State, Adepoju Adebawore who just committed to Oklahoma, Edric Hill who just committed to Alabama, or even Kendrick Bell, Ronnie's brother, who just committed to Michigan. The future is incredibly bright for MoKan high school football, and the local D1 programs should be salivating at all the talent there is in this area. Guys like Ronnie set the tone for this, and while there were phenoms before him from this area, not a whole lot of them went on to have the impact that Ronnie had on his college team. Who knows, maybe Ronnie will contribute greatly to a lucky NFL franchise in the very near future. Again, congratulations to Ronnie Bell on his declaration to the NFL Draft, good luck to you and know that your city has your back. We're all rooting for you!
Burn Notice: 10/10 MoKan flames rising
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