Ronnie Bell shares impressions of Michigan early-enrollee WRs in spring ball

Senior WR Ronnie Bell shares his early impressions of Andrel Anthony and Cristian Dixon and if Anthony could take him in basketball.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With Josh Gattis entering his third year as Michigan football’s offensive coordinator, fans are hoping to finally see ‘speed in space’ in action — at least consistently.

We’ve seen it in spurts, but the offensive vision hasn’t quite coalesced as hoped in his two years with the program.

However, there’s some new blood, particularly at the skill positions, that should infuse much more speed into the space. And two of them are on campus, participating in spring ball.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh raved about former East Lansing (MI) wide receiver Andrel Anthony when he signed, and Cristian Dixon — a true speedster from USC-feeder Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei — promises to help elevate the position group with his talents sooner than later. Now that Ronnie Bell is the veteran leader in the wideouts room, he’s excited about what both have shown this spring, noting that they’re taking ownership of their skills, but learning what the coaching staff is imparting.

“I feel like both have done a great job – ‘drel and Cristian Dixon,” Bell said. “They both have taken the coaching. They’ve done a good job of whenever – because all of us, every day, have things that we need to get better at as receivers. I think it’s good that they see that Coach Gattis is onto everybody in the receiving room. And once he’s onto them, I feel like they do a good job of taking the coaching and answering, responding in practice with their play.”

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One interesting caveat about Anthony is that he was a former basketball point guard at the high school level — something that he and Bell share in common. Anthony told WolverinesWire in summer 2020 that he was considering trying his hand under Juwan Howard, but for now, he’s working on the gridiron rather than the hardwood.

Considering that Bell was once a basketball commit in the Missouri Valley Conference, how does he think Anthony would fare against him in a one-on-one matchup? But, more importantly, how will those basketball skills translate to the football field as a receiver at the college level?

Bell, naturally, touted his own skills, but noted that Anthony should be able to put his own merits to good use on the football field.

“There’s not very many people walking the whole planet that have beaten me one-on-one,” Bell said. “Let alone in this building – there’s not a single person in this building that has beaten me in one-on-one basketball. So, ‘drel – he’s been telling me he can hoop. I haven’t seen nothing of him playing basketball – I’ve gotta Google something or something. But ‘drel couldn’t see me on the court – I’m too locked in!

“But ‘drel, especially having basketball in his background, it should help him, just from the standpoint of – my biggest thing is when the ball is in the air for a rebound-type deal? In basketball, you go get it, you’re not worried about nothing around you, you just go up and get the ball. I feel like if he was really out there basketball rebounding, that would be something easy to take into football, because, when the ball is in the air if you just treat that thing like a rebound and just go get it and don’t worry about nothing around you, you take care of business.”

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