Badger Receiver Reflects on Time as Panther Alum

Skyler Bell ’21 plays for the University of Wisconsin-Madison football team as a wide receiver. He attended The Browning School for nine years.

During his time at Browning, Skyler Bell ‘21 obtained the fundamentals of being an athlete that would lead him to excel at football on a Big 10 team. Bell is currently midway through his first year playing as a wide receiver for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Badgers team. 

How do you manage to be a student-athlete at Wisconsin?

Being a student-athlete here is stressful, but it is fun as well. We do have to stay on top of our work and things like that along with balancing football and social life. My typical day starts around 6:30 a.m. and ends around 8 p.m. From lift, to practice, to treatment, to class, lunch, class, meetings, treatment, and then study hall. 

What do you do to calm the butterflies before games? 

Being in a stadium with 80,321 is one of a kind. The stands are packed every single Saturday and it gets loud. I wouldn’t say nervous, I like playing in front of a crowd. I feed off of the energy.

What motivated you to make the switch from hockey to football?

The switch came more from what I think I would play for longer and have a better chance of playing professionally. Hockey was my first love so If I didn’t make the switch to football I would definitely be playing college hockey.

How did Browning help you to achieve your accomplishments? 

Browning helped develop my fundamental athletic ability, more so the basics so that I could build off of it when I got older. I feel as if Browning always knew my time there would be cut short, but they always supported me, and when I made the decision to leave they had my back and wished me nothing but the best.

What was your fondest memory of Browning?

My fondest memory would have to be going undefeated in basketball with my class in 6th grade.

How do you prepare for your games mentally, physically, and emotionally?

Preparing for games starts at the beginning of the week with practice but once we get later in the week I begin taking mental reps of what I could see in the game and what looks the defense could show us.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

In the next 10 years, I see myself in the NFL and having a good career trying to become the best WR I can be.

Who is the most important person in your life?

The most important people in my life are my parents along with my siblings. Everything that I do is for them, they want the best for me and push me to be great.

How does it feel to be the first Division 1 athlete out of Browning?

I actually didn’t know that I was, but now that I know that’s a big honor. I love Browning and the people I met from it. With that being said I know now that I have to uphold that and set the bar for the younger generation.