BOSTON – Skyler Bell never said he wasn’t going to play in the Fenway Bowl.
He also never said how much he would play in the game, which turned out to be just a single series where he attempted to throw a pass rather than catch one, as he’s done as well as anyone in college football this season.
After the opening drive, the consensus All-American and Biletnikoff Award finalist never returned and was shown in street clothes on the TV broadcast before halftime.
“Skyler was gonna play as long as he felt he could,” said interim head coach Gordon Sammis after the 41-16 loss to Army. “He guaranteed me one (series) and we were gonna see how it went.”
Bell, likely to be a second-day NFL Draft selection, chose to protect himself on a frigid afternoon that saw a number of his teammates exit with injury. His starting QB, Joe Fagnano, opted out of the game to avoid the injury risk, backup Nick Evers left the team as well, and true freshman Ksaan Farrar was the best option among what the roster had left to offer.
“With who we had out there, we felt he was our best option,” Sammis said of the QB who finished 11-for-17 with 84 passing yards and an 11-yard rushing TD. “For a young kid, I’ll say this: He had a lot of composure late in the game and just watching him, he got better every day. It was impressive to watch a young guy like that just come along.”
Bell posted to X shortly after the game, writing: “I appreciate all the love UConn Nation it’s surreal, I just wanted to come on here and say Thank You UConn Nation from the bottom of my heart for an unforgettable 2 years. It’s been a fun ride.”
Sammis appreciative of opportunity
Coming to UConn as Jim Mora’s offensive line coach in 2022, Sammis was promoted to offensive coordinator and led the Huskies’ offense to new heights in consecutive seasons in 2024 and ’25. He was named interim head coach for the bowl game after Jim Mora’s departure and before accepting TCU’s OC position.
“I learned a lot,” he said of the experience over the last few weeks. “I learned what I’m capable of and what I’m not. I can certainly be better at compartmentalizing things and keeping to be more organized. But it was great to be able to not only be a head coach, but kind of get to know everybody on the defense a little bit better, let our staff kind of grow offensively to give them more of a role as well and they were awesome through this because it’s never easy when there’s transition and everything.”
Fagnano, Bell to reunite
By the time Bell got ahold of Fagnano to make an attempt at convincing him to play in the Fenway Bowl, it was too late, he said. But the duo will connect at least one more time as both accepted their invitations to attend the East-West Shrine Bowl, which will be held at 7 p.m. on Jan. 27 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The game will be nationally televised on NFL Network.
Bell was also invited to the Panini Senior Bowl, the premier college all-star game, which will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 in Mobile, Ala. and also be televised on NFL Network.