After postponing his announcement last month, wide receiver Skyler Bell is staying patient and now plans to wait and take his official visits before deciding. We caught up with the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Bell this week to get the very latest on his recruiting.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with Iowa? Which coaches are you talking to the most and what is their message to you?
BELL: Mostly I’m talking to Coach Copeland, Coach O’Keefe, and Coach Ferentz. I talk to those guys almost every week, if not every week. We have good conversations just about the recruiting process and what’s going through my head and things like that.
Q: Talking with Coach Copeland, what has been his recruiting pitch as far as how you might fit in there?
BELL: He says I can play anywhere on the field from X to Z and inside as well. He thinks I can have a role like Ihmir Smith-Marsette not only in the offense, but also with punt returns and kick returns and things like that, just being a playmaker and being dynamic.
Q: What are your thoughts on how that kind of fits to your skill set?
BELL: I think it would fit perfectly. I do all those things at Taft and I think I can hopefully translate it to the college level. As far as offense, I’d be playing the positions I’ve been playing, and with the return game, I haven’t done punt returns yet, but I’ve been practicing it and think I can be dangerous there.
Q: Have you already done some virtual visits with Iowa?
BELL: Yeah, we’ve done some Zoom calls where we’ve talked about their offense and I’ve done a virtual tour and seen the campus and the dorms. It’s a really great place and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting out there in the fall.
Q: What is the overall plan with your recruiting right now after postponing your announcement?
BELL: Right now, I’m just playing it by ear. I thought I was going to be able to visit some schools in July, but the NCAA shut that down. Hopefully I can get out to see some games in the fall and maybe take some official visits after the season.
Q: Right now, your preference is to wait and see some of the schools in person?
BELL: Yes.
Q: You had named a top six at one point, but picked a couple new offers since then. What are the main schools you are talking with right now?
BELL: It would be Iowa, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Rutgers, and Virginia Tech. Those are the main schools.
Q: Are any of those schools filling up or putting pressure on you to decide?
BELL: No, no schools are putting pressure on me. They all know the circumstances and we’re all in the same boat. I’m just trying to take it day by day and no schools are putting pressure on me, which is good.
Q: Have you been able to do virtual visits with most of the schools?
BELL: I’ve done virtual visits with a couple of them. I just got done with an official virtual visit with West Virginia yesterday. With most schools I’ve gone over plays and looking at scheme wise how I would fit in and things like that, but haven’t done a full visit. But I’ve seen most of the campuses and things like that.
Q: Outside of football, what have things been like for you back home during this quarantine period?
BELL: It’s been different. I can’t get the same workouts in that I usually do and I haven’t seen my mom in a while since she lives in Charlotte. But I’ve just been working out and trying to get better any way I can.
Q: Your dad is a trainer right? Has he been putting you through workouts at home?
BELL: Yeah because he knows my body better than anyone. He’s been putting me through workouts since I was little. We do beach workouts, field workouts, and lift and condition. He really knows his stuff.
Q: Is the strength program an important factor for you then as you look at colleges?
BELL: Yes, it will be.
Q: What’s next for you?
BELL: I’ve got a couple more virtual visits and then just getting ready for the season. I’m still talking to other schools that haven’t offered me too, so we’ll just see how that goes and see what happens. Other than that, I’m just getting ready for the season and working on my craft.
Q: What’s that’s list of schools still in contact that haven’t offered yet?
BELL: Minnesota, Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, and Cal.
Q: Your teammate Diante Vines is headed to Iowa this year. What advice has he given you on the recruiting process?
BELL: Just to go to a place that’s real and the best fit for me, but he wants me at Iowa.
Q: What is Iowa getting in Diante? How would you describe him as a player?
BELL: He's a competitor. He’s a guy who is going to produce if he gets the chance. He’s only played two years of wide receiver, so his ceiling is super high. I’m excited to see him in action. We’ve talked and I can’t see him doing anything but being efficient and productive.
A three-star prospect, Bell currently holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Virginia, Temple, Connecticut, Buffalo, Princeton, Old Dominion, and Massachusetts.
As a junior, Bell finished the season with 36 catches for 549 yards and eight touchdowns plus had 316 yards on kickoff returns and a pair of touchdowns on special teams.
See highlights from Bell's junior year at Taft in the video below.
