Skyler Bell, Connecticut Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/13/22 - WR Skyler Bell, rJr/2026, Connecticut

Skyler Bell leapt after a Graham Mertz pass in the middle of the south end zone Monday, snagged it over the outstretched arms of a defender and maintained possession while crashing to the Camp Randall Stadium turf. It was the highlight of the day for either side of the ball at the University of Wisconsin's football practice - and a continuation of the strong showing Bell has been putting together since bowl-prep practices in December. Bell appears to be in the Badgers' top line of wide receivers, a unit trying to replace two multi-year starters in Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor. The receiver group is deep and there's competition for roles, but Bell's display of route running, aggressiveness in blocking and run-after-the-catch ability has him firmly in the mixing for a starting spot. "The goal is to be perfect, but obviously you're not going to be perfect," Bell said. "Just try and go out there, know what I'm doing, play fast, play confident. I think that's what I was able to do in the spring and that's why I saw a good amount of success. Fall camp, I'm just trying to build on that, get more comfortable with the plays and hopefully take off this season."

Bell, a redshirt freshman from Bronx, New York, saw his stock rising before the Badgers flew to Las Vegas to play Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. He recorded his first college catch in that game, a diving grab of 15 yards to convert a third-and-9, and continued to stand out during spring practices. His ability to create separation on crossing routes in particular made him a frequent target for Mertz, UW's junior quarterback. Mertz believes a year of college life has made Bell more mature and that is starting to come through on the field. "You come into college and you've got to learn how to lead yourself," Mertz said. "And he dove into that and learned how to lead himself how to recover, how to do all that stuff. "He's got that dog (in him), but he's also spreading that to (the receivers), which is cool." - Wisconsin State Journal

rJr/2026