He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning offensive rookie of the year in 2018, and named an All-Big Ten selection in 2022.

Bell was a multi-sport athlete at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

As a senior, he caught 89 passes for 1,605 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he was not ranked in the top 1,000 high school football recruits.

[5][6][7] Against Michigan State on November 16, 2019, Bell had a career-high 150 receiving yards (117 in the first half) on nine catches.

[20] During a Week 3 30–12 victory over the New York Giants, Bell caught his first pass, a 9-yard touchdown reception, from quarterback Brock Purdy.

[21] In Week 18 in a 21–20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Bell had a career high 5 targets, thanks to the 49ers sitting their best players due to already clinching the #1 seed in the National Football Conference.