He's Ronnie Bell's little brother.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Since the class doesn't have a q—

What, you wanted more than that? Okay, let's shake the ol' recruiting networks and see if they've got any stray takes on the quarterback from Kansas City.

GURU RATINGS

New design!

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'3/180	On3: 6'2/170	Rivals: 6'3/180	ESPN: 6'2/170
3*, 83, NR Ovr #182 QB, #36 MO	3*, 88, NR Ovr #24 QB, #12 MO	3*, 5.6, NR Ovr #49 ATH, #49 MO	3*, 77, #218 Midlands #19 DUAL, #21 MO
3.05	3.70	3.59	3.46
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.8552, #1173 Ovr #101 QB, #25 MO	3*, 85.17, #1023 Ovr #52 QB, #23 MO	3*, #677/762 Ovr #39/41 QBs since 1990
3.55	3.52	3.47

Bottom rows are my conversions to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles.

Once again 247 and On3 are in complete disagreement, though not as obviously because people don't take the time to differentiate between the vastly different definitions of "3-star." On3 thinks he's a legit prospect, 247 has him ranked down where Michigan's preferred walk-ons end up rated, if they make the rankings at all. Bell was also just recently added however, so 247's rankings should be taken more as a non-opinion than a negative one. Rivals is the only site to rank him as an athlete; ESPN seems to have him as their last 77.

[AFTER THE JUMP: He can.]

SCOUTING

Other than the obvious the sites are having a hard time predicting anything about Bell after two seasons of tearing up a league (the toughest in the KC area) that made Graham Mertz look like a 5-star. Kendrick won the Simone Award, which is the Heisman for the Kansas City metro area. Previous winners: Mertz, Ronnie Bell, Ladell Betts, Darren Sproles, Josh Freeman, Nathan Scheelhaase, and Evan Boehm. That's pretty impressive for a QB who only started playing the position as a freshman (via the Athletic's Austin Meek) and had to learn a new system as a junior.

247's Allen Trieu describes "an athletic prospect who can project to other positions." That's it for takes from people who do the ratings at the main sites. I usually don't bother with takes from independent camp organizations, but Bell scouting is so thin I'm willing to make an exception for Six Star Football (typos cleaned up):

A long, rangy player with good size at 6'3, 170-pounds, Bell is a terrific athlete who moves well in and out of the pocket and excels at creating plays. He has an unorthodox delivery, but has a quick release and can deliver the ball at various arm angles, making him dangerous when avoiding oncoming pass-rushers.

Everything else is from recruiting reporters, or Bell's coach via recruiting reporters. Bell's head coach Andrew Sims actually coached Mertz, and  told EJ Holland he put a lot on Bell, who hasn't been under center long, but might be able to stick there:

There was a huge maturation process for him from Year 1 to Year 2, which you love to see. Everything that I might have been frustrated with a year ago, he was able to correct, which was awesome to see. … His skillset is going to be different than Michigan’s quarterback last year (Cade McNamara) and even Michigan’s quarterback this year (JJ McCarthy). His ability to extend plays and use his athleticism is phenomenal. At the same time, he doesn’t lack arm talent, either.

And if he doesn't? Well, if you're calling him an athlete there's a catch:

If for whatever reason quarterback doesn’t work out, you have a 6-foot-5 wide receiver that can jump out of the gym and snag every ball you can imagine. He’s not a burner. Few of those guys are ever like that. He’s going to need some work on his route running.

The sites all say 6'3", not 6'5", fwiw. Sims also said 6-foot-4 to another outlet, adding a 34-inch vertical. That's the description of an MSU fade merchant, but Bell isn't exactly 220, says Bell:

”I’m trying to get bigger, more stronger, faster, and putting more weight on of course,” Bell told The Wolverine. ”That’s what I plan on accomplishing during basketball season and in the spring during track. Mentally, I’m just ready to go. I’m ready to get up there because I know coach (Ben) Herbert is going to have us competing.

That was an interview with now-at-On3 Zach Libby about 4 weeks ago. Libby talked to Bell a month before that, when Libby was still at Rivals, and got the sense that Michigan's pretty confident they can leave Bell under Herbert's care and check back in later.

Michigan feels that it can develop him into a fan favorite, much like his brother, because of the raw athleticism. … Unless Bell wows everyone with his dual-threat ability, his trajectory feels right at wide receiver or defensive back

For now (via everyone, best quote went to EJ Holland) Michigan's planning to start him at QB:

“Coach Harbaugh asked me where I see myself, and I told him I see myself helping the team win,” Bell said. “I’ll play anywhere on the field to help the team win. He said they’ll give me a shot (at quarterback) and if we can use you anywhere, we’ll do that. I was all for it. I feel like I’m athletic enough to play defensive back or wide receiver.”

EJ's own thoughts are about the best we're going to get from the industry, but he thinks there's a lot of ceiling at QB to explore before we go other routes.

Bell offers athletic upside and while he doesn’t have amazing speed, he’s a long strider that is capable of breaking long runs and making people miss in the open field. Bell needs some mechanical work but has been working with a private quarterback coach. His arm strength appears to be average, but he does get it where it needs to be.

And as for the other routes?

…the athletic traits are there, and Ron Bellamy is capable of teaching him how to run routes. Bell could also transition to the secondary. With his height and length, he would be an intriguing prospect as a corner. Bell will likely get some action at different spots upon arrival at Michigan.

Holland also thinks there's some speed to unlock in training. The photos themselves give that impression—Kendrick has a lot of filling out to do before we know what he can be.

OFFERS

Bell reports offers from UMass and Northern Iowa. Kansas was recruiting him as well.

HIGH SCHOOL

From Ronnie's Hello:

Kansas City Park Hill plays in the largest classification in Missouri, though the area competition isn't of the quality you'd get in, for example, Detroit. Bell with be the fourth Power Five signee to hail from the program, according to the Rivals database. He's the second to head to Michigan, joining 2012 five-star DT Ondre Pipkins.

Their Power Five list is now up to eight, including Bell and Iowa WR commit Dayton Howard. Park Hill went 3-8 this year, their second under Sims, who was previously at Blue Valley North.

STATS 

As a senior he set school records with 3,228 yards passing and 45 total TDs (35 passing, 10 on the ground). Also rushed for 680 yards on 127 carries (5.35 YPC including sacks). Passed for 2,267 yards, rushed for 313 and scored 30 total touchdowns as a junior.

FAKE 40 TIME

Told EJ Holland he had a 4.6, which gets four FAKES out of five because that's still pretty fast and I have a suspicion the decimals were rounded down but were closer to up. The athleticism is there, however: Bell placed 2nd in districts in the long jump at 6.65 PR, 3rd in the high jump, and 4th in the triple jump at 13.19.

VIDEO

Senior highlights:

Accurate long ball:

His junior highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

ETC 

Three-sport star: Excellent track athlete who advanced to states last year. Played AAU basketball and was 1st team all-district. Twin Marqueas is committed to play basketball at Southeast Missouri State (where have I heard that before?). Brother Ronnie is a receiver and captain at Michigan, which beat Ohio State 45-23 this year.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

They needed a guy after going all in on Dante Moore and coming up empty, but Bell doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's going to be more than a change-of-pace quarterback at Michigan. Even in 2022 you can get away with okay passing if you're a ridiculous athlete, but you'd have to be talking Denard-level to be the guy under center at a regular playoff contender. Most likely they have him spend a year there, which is a good way to learn the game anyways, and see what he's shaping into after a year with Ben and Abigail. He's not a freak like Amorion Walker, but press cornerback, if he stays skinny and agile, or jump-ball specialist WR if he gains more weight, seem like plausible routes to the field. He'd probably be ranked in the high 3-stars if he was from a more scouted area. He's probably not going to be the star his brother turned out to be. If he is, Michigan needs to pull Marqueas off the basketball court immediately.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan's plan is to get Bell on campus and let him slot in where he's needed. His versatility, and the fact that he's Ronnie Bell's brother with about the same level of offers, Kendrick's spot in the class doesn't really affect anyone else's. Since the class doesn't have a quarterback, and Kendrick plays quarterback, fine, report to Sergeant Weiss.

As for Ronnie Bell's unscouted little brother as the class quarterback: This is fine. No major recruiting issues due to an administration that's dead set against joining the NIL era here. No sir. It's not like going without a QB for a year because we're sure to get a can't-miss guy in the next class has ever come back to bite us.

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Kendrick Bell	MO	3.5	Ronnie's little brother
RB	Cole Cabana	MI	4.3	Speedy receiver back
RB	Benjamin Hall	GA	3.5	Battering ram with vision
SL	Semaj Morgan	MI	3.8	Homegrown Gattis-ian slot
WR	Fredrick Moore	MO	3.7	Crafty, Roundtree 2.0
TE	Deakon Tonielli	IL	3.9	Catchy bouncy bballer
TE	Zack Marshall	CA	3.7	1,000-yard receiver in Cali league
OG	Amir Herring	MI	4.0	West Bloomfield's interior mauler
OG	Nathan Efobi	GA	3.8	Ineffable teddy bear
OT	Evan Link	DC	4.1	Agile OT with a Wisconsin offer
OT	LaDarius Henderson	TX	3.7	Transfer G could be a LT
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Trey Pierce	IL	3.8	Polished, rising 3-tech
DT	Brooks Bahr	IL	3.7	Lengthy grow-a-3-tech
SDE	Enow Etta	TX	4.4	Poor man's Rashan Gary
WDE	Aymeric Koumba	FRA	3.7	Long/French athletic freak
OLB	Jason Hewlett	OH	3.8	Hybrid S/OLB/DE
MLB	Semaj Bridgeman	PA	4.1	Formerly elite, WLBish
MLB	Breeon Ishmail	OH	3.5	LB/Edge tweener
CB	Cameron Calhoun	OH	3.9	Gritty not-fast playmaker
PK	Adam Samaha	MI	3.2	Local #6 kicker