Grapevine QB went from zero college offers to a flood
Grapevine quarterback Alan Bowman went from asking questions to dealing with the stress.
That’s pretty much what happens in Division I college football recruiting. Players can become frustrated because no one is offering and then try to sort through the chaos when offers suddenly come in droves.
Welcome to Bowman’s world. Less than a week after Texas Tech offered Bowman at its June 10 camp, he gave his verbal commitment to the Red Raiders. Bowman said he plans to sign in the new December signing period and enroll in January.
It’s drastically different from what he was dealing with until the early part of this year. He didn’t have an offer for the first three years of his high school player career. When Texas Tech offered, the Red Raiders were the 15th program to extend in the past four months.
“It was pretty tough to deal with [no offers],” Bowman said. “I thought it was going pretty well. But it was also frustrating. I kept thinking that I had to keep working, because the offers were going to come. It brings a new appreciation of what it means.”
Bowman (6-3, 205) is one of the first big recruiting names to come off the board in Northeast Tarrant County. He joins Colleyville Heritage 2019 wide receiver Kam Brown (UCLA) and Panthers 2018 defensive back Marcus Mosley (SMU).
Other names to watch during the recruiting season will be Justin Northwest 2018 offensive lineman Darrell Simpson and Southlake Carroll linebacker Jacob Doddridge.
Bowman is about to become a four-year starter for the Mustangs. He became Grapevine’s starting quarterback in the third game of the 2014 season against Weatherford. An injury to then-starter Sam Barry forced former head coach Randy Jackson to turn the offense over to an unproven quarterback.
But Bowman survived the season. Since then, he’s become Grapevine’s all-time leading passer with 7,823 yards, 81 touchdowns and completing 67 percent of his passing. He’s also taken the program to the postseason in all three seasons. Grapevine enjoyed a historic season in 2016 when it went 10-2 and knocked off Colleyville Heritage for the first time since 2009. The Mustangs are heavily favored to return to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season this fall.
Arkansas State was the first program to offer Bowman. But he didn’t receive his first Power 5 school offer until Illinois did it in May.
Bowman then went on the summer camp tour. He started with Baylor on June 4 and then moved on to Lubbock on June 10. That’s when it all changed.
“[Texas Tech offensive coordinator Eric] Morris saw me in the spring of 2016 and liked what he saw, but wanted to see more in the offseason,” Bowman said. “When he came back to see my film this year, he said he saw a totally different quarterback.
“I got a chance to spend some time with [Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury] at the camp. They took the top five prospects into a different area. Then I watched film with Coach Kingsbury. He showed six to seven plays against Oklahoma last year. We ran four of those plays exactly like they do.”
The stakes are going to be pretty high for the Red Raiders in 2017. They are coming off a 5-7 season in 2017 and didn’t go to a bowl. Questions about Kingsbury’s status have surfaced if the Red Raiders struggle again.
Bowman is aware of that.
“I’m going to have faith that everything will work out for the best,” Bowman said. “They feel like they have a pretty good team. I’m going to stick it out. There’s a long way to go with everything. I love how the Tech coaches have faith in me and my ability. I’m going to work hard this summer and have a great season.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Grapevine QB went from zero college offers to a flood."