Henley, Bell’s bowl presence felt from the sideline

LOS ANGELES — One of them was a Cougar for seven seasons. The other was only in Pullman for one year but turned it into a campaign to remember.

Despite vastly different paths to the Palouse, Washington State receiver Renard Bell and linebacker Daiyan Henley will leave the school with lasting impacts.

Neither Cougar leader was expected to take the field in today’s Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl against Fresno State — that is until coach Jake Dickert dropped a bombshell Friday that Bell will be a gametime decision.

Henley, a prized NFL draft prospect, opted out of the bowl game. Bell has battled multiple injuries this season and spent much of it helping teammates from the sideline.

The two players have taken on roles as player-coaches.

“I told (Henley) the other day, I’m going to stop short of putting the headset on him,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said, smiling. “He doesn’t need that. But he’ll be making calls as we’re going.”

Henley, a senior Nevada transfer, was a force for the Cougar defense this season, finishing with a team-high 106 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Those marks earned him finalist honors for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s best traditional linebacker.

Henley is projected to go as high as the first round in the 2023 NFL draft.

“I think Daiyan is kind of a unique situation in college football,” Dickert said. “Sometimes, you get a player for 11 months. Daiyan came to Washington State with a trust of a process that we were going to put him through.”

As for Bell, he didn’t shine right away like Henley but he’s a name Cougar fans have grown used to seeing on stat sheets year in and year out.

A 2016 redshirt, Bell broke out as a Pac-12 all-freshman honoree in 2017 and didn’t let up, even when injuries tried to slow him down.

Bell missed all of 2021 with an ACL tear and has been out of five games this year.

When he’s on the field, the 5-foot-9 receiver is a speedster in the slot, where he’s racked up 174 catches and 1,971 receiving yards in his career.

Bell will have a solid shot at reaching 2,000 yards if he can play against the Bulldogs.

Even when he was out, the team captain still traveled with the team to help provide leadership. Bell is often seen on the sideline consoling teammates after a bad play.

Where he really shines though is on the field and playing in the bowl game would be the cherry on top of a great career if he’s able to go.

“Renard you might see out there a little bit tomorrow,” Dickert said. “I’m excited about where he’s at. I think he’s feeling more confident in his process so he’ll be more of a gametime decision.”

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.