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(*Editor's note...What the heck does "Commitment to Eight" mean? It is our new recurring title for recruit commitments referencing a commitment to work towards the Gopher's Eighth National Championship. A little bit tongue in cheek, but why not right?)
In less than 2 days, new Gopher Football coach has dramatically altered the recruiting landscape of the 2017 Gopher class. Hours from the initial press conference several Western Michigan commitments flipped to follow PJ Fleck to Minnesota. One of the first was wide receiver, Chris Bell.
Not only is this kid a nice pick up, but he’s an absolute position of need.
Quotables
Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated ($cout) with this quote from Bell on his commitment.
"Coach Fleck has told me that he loves how I'm just a unique wide receiver. He likes my work ethic and how he's going to be getting 120% on each rep. What I like about coach Fleck so much is that we've had the same life. We're both wide receivers, both smart minded and we've always got along well. Minnesota, I repeat, Minnesota is getting an "underrated" wide receiver that has fire in his eyes."
Allen Trieu of$cout gave this analysis of Bell.
He was considered one of the best players in the Broncos class and a guy who was expected to play early to offset the loss of Corey Davis. A nice sized kid with excellent ball skills which he showed while winning a 7 on 7 national championship
Measurables
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 180bs.
Big 4 Ratings:
Untitled
| Site | Stars | Rating | Pos. Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site | Stars | Rating | Pos. Rank |
| Scout | 3 | n/a | 85 |
| Rivals | 3 | 5.6 | n/a |
| 247 | 3 | 83 | 195 |
| ESPN | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Highlights
Junior year highlights:
TDG Analysis
In Two Words - if you have to remember just two things about this player...
- Soft Hands
- Smoot
Absurd Comparisons
It is hard to find a good comparison as we have not seen a real strong receiver in a very long time. As you watch the video of Bell the word smooth just jumps to your mind. He’s not particularly fast, he’s not all that big but he’s just smooth.
Scheme Fit
Considering we haven’t seen PJ Fleck and his schemes/systems in person, it is hard to say how Bell fits. But particularly considering how Fleck has always been a WRs coach...I’m going to trust his decision to pull Bell along with him from Western Michigan to the Big Ten and Minnesota.
Impact on Other Prospects?
I’d keep an eye on Hawes. These guys are similar size and Hawes is not a guy who had been sought after by Fleck and staff previously. We are going to need more receivers, but keep an eye on Hawes to see what happens with his recruitment.