Rondell Bothroyd, a Manchester native who played high school football at E.O. Smith in Storrs, signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent.
Bothroyd, 6 feet 3 and 273 pounds, a defense end, played in five seasons at Wake Forest, then transferred to Oklahoma to play out his extra year of eligibility in 2023. The move paid dividends; he started all 13 games for the Sooners, getting in on 25 takes, 3 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage, and getting honorable mention on the All-Big 12 team. In total, Bothroyd, 24, played 63 college games, more than 2,300 snaps at Power Five schools in the ACC and Big 12.
𝙎𝙄𝙂𝙉𝙀𝘿
Congratulations @_dellron! #OUDNA
@BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/pIECTUCtFx
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) April 28, 2024
At E.O. Smith, Bothroyd had 24 1/2 sacks and forced 10 fumbles during his career, and made the All-Courant team in 2017 and 2018.
Linebacker Jackson Mitchell (Ridgefield High/UConn),and running back Jaden Shirden (St. Joseph-Trumbull/Monmouth, who both signed with the Panthers, were others from CIAC schools to hook on with NFL teams after the draft. Later Monday, it was announced that University of New Haven tight end Kevin Foelsch also signed with the Carolina Panthers.
UConn’s Jackson Mitchell signs with Panthers, Eric Watts with Jets as undrafted free agents