Michigan football will miss big-play WRs, but excited about smaller, quicker corps

Around this time last year, Ronnie Bell began to emerge from the corners of Michigan football’s roster and take center stage.

Seen as a supporting character in a receiving corps that included ballyhooed talents such as Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Nico Collins, Bell suddenly became a featured player in the Wolverines’ offense at the beginning of his second year in the program.

He made seven catches in a taut victory over Army last September. Later that month, against Rutgers, he hauled in six more passes.

Three weeks after that, he helped Michigan nearly erase a 21-point deficit against Penn State with five receptions before dropping a short toss from Shea Patterson that would have drawn the Wolverines even with the Nittany Lions near the end of regulation.

For that one mishap, Bell absorbed a torrent of criticism. But he didn’t shrink in the face of it, and by the end of the season he led all Michigan receivers in snaps (595), catches (48) and yards from scrimmage (767).

Since then, the faith in Bell has only grown within the coaching staff, leading to greater expectations in 2020.

“Even though a lot of people view it as a success,” offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said, “Ronnie believes and he knows that last year it was just scratching the surface…We’re really excited about being able to take his game and make that jump.”

To maximize its potential, the offense needs him to reach new heights as the Wolverines build a different identity.

In December, after the final regular-season game, the team’s inventory of wideouts began to change. Black entered the transfer portal, and not long thereafter Peoples-Jones declared for the NFL draft. When Collins announced his plans to return for one more run with the Wolverines four days after Michigan’s Citrus Bowl loss to Alabama, the exodus within the team's most scrutinized position group appeared to have ended.

“I have always believed in finishing what I started,” he proclaimed on Twitter in January.

But Collins could have never foreseen the interruptions spawned by a global pandemic. Spring practice was erased, and the season was placed in jeopardy. The Big Ten’s postponement of football in August and subsequent reinstatement five weeks later added to the uncertainty, leaving Collins’ status up in the air.

With Collins viewed by one NFL scouting service as a potential first-round pick, the prevailing feeling within the program is his days at Michigan are over. One national outlet reported that he signed with an agent.

"Our room with him, of course, would be better," Bell said, noting the significance of Collins' absence.

The void Collins leaves will also change the complexion of the receiving corps that loses 58% of its production from last season but now has the capacity to add a new dimension to an offense Gattis would like to see become more dynamic.

In 2019, Michigan's wideouts could be described as big, rangy and strong. The average height of the group was 6-foot-1.

But with the Black, Peoples-Jones and Collins out of the mix, the adjectives used to characterize these pass catchers are diminutive, quick and explosive.

“We’re not as tall no more,” Bell said.

In fact, the remaining contributors from the 2019 roster are now, on average, a shade under 6 feet. Only Cornelius Johnson, with his 6-3, 205-pound frame, resembles the kind of post-up player the Wolverines recruited in years past.

The personnel transformation of the last nine months reflects the ambitions of Gattis’ system. The offensive coordinator wants to stretch the defense and push the ball down the field to open gaps underneath that can be exploited. To realize his vision, he needs fast playmakers.

“The speed and athleticism that we have… it’s special to see,” Gattis said.

Added Giles Jackson, “I think all of our receivers can bring that.”

As freshmen last season, Jackson and Mike Sainristil flashed their physical talents, displaying elusiveness and jitterbug-type quickness. Not surprisingly, they spent the majority of the time lined up in the slot — the position Bell manned last season.

From game to game, the former three-star recruit showed a knack for finding openings in the coverage, streaking from one side to another and providing an outlet for Patterson whenever the scripted play dissolved.

Bell’s value has only increased since then. With a new quarterback under center, the Wolverines need a dependable target more than ever. Bell fits the bill. He’s expected to have an expanded role with greater position flexibility, saying he anticipates moving around more than he did in 2019.

Last year, only 20 percent of Bell’s snaps originated out wide, according to Pro Football Focus. The spots on the edges, after all, were reserved for some of the team's tallest skill players -- Collins, Black and Peoples-Jones.

But Bell, at 6 feet, is now one of the bigger receivers on the team. Measured at the same height as freshman Roman Wilson, he has a few inches on Jackson, Sainristil and newcomer A.J. Henning.

In short order, Bell’s stature within the team has risen both literally and figuratively. By default, he’s emerged as a leader, commanding respect among his teammates who want to follow in the footsteps of a productive, experienced player.

“I’m low-key kinda old,” Bell quipped.

He’s also essential as the headliner among the Wolverines’ reconfigured warren of receivers.

Once overshadowed by the taller receivers in his midst, Bell hopes he'll thrive in the spotlight this season. Michigan's new-look offense does, too.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michigan football's revamped wide receiver corps will play out