Joe Fagnano and Skyler Bell have numbers that are among the best in the nation at their positions this season. The names of the UConn quarterback-wide receiver combo are becoming known.
Football fans and coaches have figured out what UConn’s faithful long have known: the Huskies are one heck of a football program, with the players to match.
And the accolades have streamed in since the Huskies’ statement defeat of Duke on Saturday.
On Tuesday, wide receiver Skyler Bell earned an invitation to the 101st East-West Shrine Bowl, set for Jan. 27 at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The annual game brings together the top college players in the nation and lets them show their skills to NFL scouts, coaches, and executives from all 32 teams. It also raises money for Shriners Children’s and the health care it provides to children.
Scouts already have been watching Bell, who ranks first in FBS in touchdown receptions (13), as well as second in FBS in receiving yards (1,081) and yards per game (108.1). He is a sure-handed 6-foot, 185-pound transfer from Washington in his second season with the Huskies.
He’s caught TD passes in seven consecutive games. UConn is 7-3 on the season, with Air Force visiting this Saturday.
Bell’s success this season is shared with senior quarterback Joe Fagnano, who led the Huskies to the 37-34 win over Duke at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
Fagnano was 28-of-40 passing for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Bell was on the receiving end of 11 passes for 87 yards and two scores.
On Monday, he was one of eight quarterbacks to be named a Manning Award “Stars of the Week.”
Fagnano is drawing the attention of scouts, too. After all, he is second in the nation among FBS quarterbacks in passing yards (2,840), third in completions (236) and touchdown passes (25). Oh, and he's No. 1 in interceptions -- the fewest -- thrown.
Zero.
“We haven’t had a practice in weeks where there hasn’t been at least one or maybe several NFL scouts there,” head coach Jim Mora said recently. “I think they’re there obviously to see Skyler, now they’re there to see Joe.
“I think the things that he’s (Fagnano) doing, the consistency he’s playing with, the accuracy with which he’s throwing the ball, the decision-making he’s exhibiting – he’s a good football player. I think it’s only a matter of time before the nation recognizes some of the great things that he’s doing. It’s rare. Very rare.”
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