Michigan loses top wide receiver Ronnie Bell for season with knee injury
The University of Michigan will be without its top receiver for the rest of the 2021 season.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday that Ronnie Bell is out for the year with a knee injury. Bell, a senior from Kansas City, Missouri, hurt his leg Saturday during a punt return in Michigan's 47-14 win against Western Michigan.
He could not put much pressure on his right leg and needed assistance getting to the sideline after a 31-yard punt return.
Before the second-quarter injury, Bell had hauled in a 76-yard touchdown pass, the longest reception of the day. (The Wolverines didn't need to pass much, racking up more than 300 rushing yards against the Broncos.)
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Bell had been the team’s leading receiver each of the last two years. He had 48 catches for 758 yards and one touchdown in 2019 and caught 26 passes for 401 yards and one touchdown during the shortened 2020 season.
Tight end Erick All and wideouts Cornelius Johnson and Mike Sainristil combined Saturday to make six catches for 42 yards. All led the team with three catches.
Now, Michigan looks toward transfer Daylen Baldwin, a senior who caught a touchdown Saturday, Roman Wilson, Sainristil and Johnson to emerge as reliable targets.
Wilson, a 6-foot sophomore, caught nine passes for 122 yards last season. Most of his production came against Michigan State, when Wilson had five catches for 71 yards. On Saturday, he had a 43-yard gain on a reverse.
Baldwin previously played at Morgan State before transferring to Jackson State last season. Baldwin is 6-2 and was recruited by new safeties coach Ron Bellamy. Baldwin hauled in 27 catches for 540 yards and seven touchdowns this past season in six games in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Johnson, a junior, had just two catches Saturday for 15 yards, but also brings nice size to the position at 6-3. He caught 16 passes for 254 yards over six games in 2020, topping 100 yards Nov. 21 vs. Rutgers.
Sainristil, at 5-10, 185, might be the most similar to Bell in playing style. Now a junior, he caught seven passes (two touchdowns) for 82 yards last season.
Sophomore AJ Henning, a 5-10 speedster who caught a pass and ran for a touchdown Saturday, could be in the mix at wideout.
Michigan's next game is 8 p.m. ET Saturday vs. Washington.