UConn Football: Three Huskies on Shrine Bowl Watch List Poised for Big Year

The East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 recently released its preseason watch list for the 2025-26 season, a list of 1,000 players the selection committee deems eligible for the East-West Shrine Bowl in January and the 2026 NFL draft. For the second consecutive season, the UConn Huskies find three of their football stars on the list.

Last year’s representatives Chase Lundt (OL), Valentin Senn (OL), and Jelani Stafford (DL) are gone from the program, and three new Huskies have garnered the attention, instead.

UConn Football: Huskies on Shrine Bowl Watch List Poised for Big Year

Wide receiver Skyler Bell and running backs Camryn Edwards and Mel Brown are the three Connecticut stars on the Shrine Bowl 1000. So, after all linemen a season ago, the Huskies’ 2025 representatives all come at a skill position. What can they provide in 2025, and what makes them all talents worthy of such honor?

Skyler Bell, Wide Receiver

Skyler Bell is entering his second season with UConn after an astonishing junior campaign in Storrs. Bell led the team in receiving yards (860) and touchdowns (5) and was second in receptions (50). He accomplished this with two different starting quarterbacks, and was elite in the Huskies Fenway Bowl win over North Carolina.

Yet, after helping lead UConn to the program’s best record in 15 years, Bell entered the transfer portal hoping to garner the attention of national powerhouses, which he did.

Bell received offers to transfer to multiple power-schools, most notably Michigan. The Wolverines wanted to add Bell to become a focal point of its offense. Instead, he stayed in Connecticut as the clear top option now alongside Caleb Burton III.

Bell was a three-year collegiate piece at Wisconsin before taking his talents to UConn ahead of last  year, where he put together a career season. Now as he approaches his fifth collegiate campaign, his name is on the national radar.

Along with earning a spot on the East-West Shrine Bowl watch list, Bell just landed on the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list, which recognizes players eligible for the honor given to the country’s best receiver at the end of the season. The committee rewarded Bell and 46 others the preseason mention, and made Bell one of only six non-power-school receivers on the list.

The 2025 League Winners Watch List, a list compiled of 200 players, also gave Bell the recognition. He was the only Husky rewarded with such honor.

But with such expectation comes great pressure, both for Bell and the Huskies. After a 9-win 2024, fans are desperately watching to see if UConn’s success can be replicated or built upon. And Bell will be a major part of that equation.

Camryn Edwards, Running Back

Camryn Edwards is one of two UConn running backs on the watch list after years of consistency in the Huskies’ rushing attack. Edwards enters his fourth season with UConn as one of their lead backs to anchor a rushing attack that was one of the FBS’ best last season. This is no unfamiliar position for Edwards, however.

Edwards has been the team’s leading rusher in back-to-back seasons, and has gelled in Mora’s offensive scheme. However, his job hasn’t always felt secure.

Durell Robinson co-shared the RB1 position last year, but has taken his talents to Auburn. Freshman Mel Brown also caught eye balls, and MJ Flowers enters his first FBS season with promise. However, Edwards continues to standout among standouts.

Edwards still received more carries than any other back last year, while rushing for more yards and touchdowns than anyone else on the team. Consistency was key, also.

He received five or more carries in every game, including 17 for 74 yards and a score in the Fenway Bowl. Edwards ran for 80+ rushing yards in five contests, more than any other rusher on the team. Yet despite teams having more tape on Edwards, he continued to perform at a high level.

Now, will the workload continue?

Mel Brown enters his second season with UConn while MJ Flowers has a skillset more fearful than any on the roster. Even veteran Victor Rosa will hope to get touches.

Yet, until seen otherwise, Edwards is the RB1 for offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis, making him a prime candidate to have a strong showing in 2025.

That is why he was mentioned on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker award handed to the best running back each college football season.

Mel Brown, Running Back

Mel Brown’s shiftiness and elusiveness made him the X-Factor for UConn last season. Now, he is planned to be more than a high-workload RB3 behind stronger, larger and more experienced backs. He will be one of the the drivers of offense, not one used on occasion.

When Brown came to UConn last year, his teammates knew right away that he was something special.

“Mel cuts like he has no knee’s,” Robinson shared postgame after Brown’s breakthrough performance against Florida Atlantic in Week 4. He went for 156 yards on 21 carries in that game.

Brown would again go for 100+ against Georgia State later that season as the primary rusher, and nearly eclipsed three digits again in the Fenway Bowl.

While he finished third in yardage and touchdowns amongst UConn running backs last season, he was still a vital part of the football team’s offensive flow. UConn finished 21st in the country in rushing yards per game in huge thanks to Brown. And heading into his second season in Storrs, the sky is the limit as a runner, and as a returner.

Brown handled kick returns for the Huskies last season, as his 17 returns went for nearly 500 yards and a touchdown. Among specialists with at least 10 returns, his average of 29.1 yards per return was the fifth-highest in FBS. So to no surprise, Brown was named a serious contender on the Jet Award preseason watch list, rewarded to the best specialist in college football.

The Huskies open their season on August 30 at home against Central Connecticut State.