Wide receiver is the last position Wisconsin still needs to address in a 2021 recruiting class that currently sits at No. 17 in the country.
Atop Alvis Whitted's wishlist is Skyler Bell, who picked up an offer from the Badgers in April. Since then, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound rising senior from The Taft School in Connecticut has participated in a virtual visit to UW and has talked to nearly all 15 current commits.
"It (Wisconsin offer) was definitely a little surreal because (high school) Coach (Tyler) Whitley has been talking to me about Wisconsin and how he’s been reaching out to them and trying to get them on board," Bell told the BadgerBlitz.com Podcast earlier this week. "After they pulled the trigger I was excited because everyone knows Wisconsin is the real deal. It’s a top five program almost every year and they’ve been trying to get over that hump of the Big Ten championship. They are trying to take that next step of winning a national championship and they think I can be a part of that.
"I feel really comfortable with Wisconsin. Me and Coach Whitted have a great relationship and I talk to him pretty much twice a week - not always about football. He’s a great dude and he thinks that he can help me take the next step and hopefully be an NFL player, which is my goal. He wants to win championships and he tells me that all the time. People may say that Wisconsin is a run-heavy team, but he thinks that if I come there and I work for it, I can help open up the offense and make Wisconsin a little more dynamic."
Quarterback pledge Deacon Hill has been vocal about adding Bell to UW's 2021 recruiting class. But he's not the only signal caller who has been in contact with the three-star prospect.
"I talk to Deacon a lot and I have him on Snap, Instagram and Twitter," Bell said. "We talk a bunch and I actually talk to a bunch of Wisconsin kids - almost all of the 2021 commits. They seem like great guys and that class really seems bonded. I’ve even talked to kids on campus, kids like Graham Mertz, one of the quarterbacks, and he says he wants me there and I’m talked about a lot there in the offense room. They’re ready to take that next step but they just need a receiver to build that with. Wisconsin is definitely recruiting hard.
"I look at that a lot and I look at the depth chart to see if I have a chance at playing. If a school only has zero receivers graduating, I really have to work for my spot or wait for my turn. My goal is to play when I step foot on campus, so I’m going to grind and work and compete to get that spot. Some schools have a few receivers graduating and some schools have one or two - some even five. I definitely take that into consideration."
Bell, who had 36 receptions for 549 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, was originally scheduled to make a decision in May. With that taken off the table, Bell has been building relationships and participating in virtual visits and Zoom meetings with numerous college coaches.
"I was more trying to find out where I was going by that day," Bell said. "My decision wasn’t really made up, but I was getting close to my decision. My mom actually told me - this was before the dead period had been extended - that she wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. They wanted to visit schools, so we pushed it back a little. Just giving every school an equal opportunity to show me why I should be there. At that time we thought it was the best decision for me.
"It's definitely been tough. It makes it more of a positive, though, where I kind of have to go into it (virtual visits) with uncertainty of what the campus is going to be like. I’ve been building so many relationships with coaches because I have to trust and take their word for everything they are saying to me. I told every school that we need to be honest because through this whole thing, I can’t visit and see things for myself. It’s more about trust and building relationships. It’s actually extremely challenging and harder than it looks. It’s uncharted territory and no one in the world has been through this before. We’re just trying to take it day by day - take each day and look at each school. We look at the pros and the cons and we’re trying to make the best decision for my family."
For much of the off-season, Iowa has been considered the frontrunner in Bell's recruitment. The Hawkeyes were the first school to offer and Bell's former prep teammate, Diante Vines, is on the current roster.
"Iowa was the first school to offer me - they were literally the first school to believe in me and think that I could play at that level," Bell said. "That means a lot to me because during my sophomore year, not a lot of schools were offering but schools were interested. Iowa was the first school to pull the trigger and I like their coaching staff a lot. I know they have a lot going on right now and I’m taking that into consideration.
"One of my former teammates is a wide receiver there and I talk to him about everything that’s going on. He said that they’re getting everything fixed and they’re trying to build the right culture over there. It’s good because Diante would never lead me down the wrong path. I’m glad that I have him there and I talk to Coach (Brian) Ferentz and Coach (Kelton) Copeland and we have a great relationship."
Though he doesn't have a firm top five, Wisconsin, Iowa, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia are the schools Bell said he's hearing the most from at this point. And as Bell continues to train daily, a decision could be on the horizon.
"My dad is a personal trainer and he’s on me," Bell said. "We work every day and he’s trying to get me to that next level. I talk to my family a lot and we think that I’m slept on because I play football in Connecticut - people think that Connecticut football isn’t that strong. So my dad helps me a lot to try and prove people wrong by getting bigger, faster and stronger. The pandemic hurts world-wide, but I actually have had some positive come from it by getting bigger, stronger, faster. My routes are getting better and I’m working on my tracking and ball skills.
"I’m going to talk about that with my family soon. I might have a date ready for a decision and I might not. I’m going to talk to my family and my coach and hopefully we get some good news out of it. Hopefully we get closer and closer to a decision because it’s getting tough and there’s schools that are neck and neck. It’s a tough decision and we’re just trying to make sure it’s the right one."
