UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell decided not to finish the final game of his college football career. The 23-year-old senior chose to opt out of the Fenway Bowl after just one offensive drive.
He was involved in only only play during the first drive of the first quarter.
I do not blame college football players with legitimate NFL hopes for choosing to sit out of a bowl game. They have to do what is best for their careers, but they must also be held accountable for how it looks.
Who is Skyler Bell?
As a former three-star recruit, Bell initially committed to Wisconsin out of the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut over Iowa, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. He spent three seasons in Madison and caught 69 passes for more than 750 yards and six touchdowns in 26 games.
The 6-foot-0, 185-pound wide receiver transferred back home to the Nutmeg State prior to his redshirt junior year and blossomed into a superstar at UConn. Bell caught 50 passes for 994 yards and five touchdowns this season as one of the best players in program history.
He was named as a consensus All-American and will be drafted into the NFL in April. Bell could hear his named called as early as the second or third round.
UConn did not have its starting quarterback at the Fenway Bowl.
Quarterback Joe Fagnano chose not to play against Army after head coach Jim Mora took the same job at Colorado State. It was a weird decision, given that he is not projected to be a high draft pick, but it is what it is. A bad game could’ve hurt his draft stock. An injury would be catastrophic.
Whatever.
However, Fagnano chose to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Would it not be better to play against real competition in a real game instead of just a few plays in an exhibition showcase for scouts? Maybe not. I don’t know that answer.
What I do know is that Fagnano chose not to travel with the Huskies to Boston. He might not be playing, which is fine, but he also chose not to be there to support his teammates from the sideline. Weird.
The latest opt-out is even more bizarre.
Skyler Bell, on the other hand, decided to play. He told reporters that he simply loves the game too much not to strap it up this one last time.
“If you have been around me and know me, I am a football player, I love to play football,” he said. “I came to college before the whole NIL and transfer portal thing and so, I was in college when we weren’t being paid and you were just playing football on scholarship.”
The star pass-catcher traveled to Boston with the team, went through warmups and got in the game. In fact, he attempted the first pass of the game with Fagnano out, which was called for intentional grounding after he threw it out of bounds.
But that was it!
Bell wasn’t on the field for the second offensive drive of the game. And then he suddenly showed up on the sideline in street clothes with more than two minutes left in the first quarter.
Bell didn’t catch a single pass in the Fenway Bowl. He shut it down after only one touch.
For what? At that point, why play at all? Why go through bowl practices with your team only to opt out after just a few plays? Just to say you were there?
Cam Ward was crucified for his decision to opt out of the Pop Tarts Bowl at halftime last season. Bell won’t receive the same kind of treatment because he is not as high-profile of a player but his choice to sit out in the first quarter is even more bizarre.
There is also the betting element. Sports bettors might’ve wagered on UConn thinking its best player was going to play. Others might’ve taken his player props— only for him not to play. Will those bets be refunded?