Mustangs quarterback thriving after ultimate trial by fire

On the first play in his first game of varsity football last year, Grapevine freshman quarterback Alan Bowman messed up the signal.

The call was for a run play, but in a mix-up, Bowman spun around and whipped a pass out to the flat in an attempt to run a screen play.

The result was a touchdown and any nerves about stepping into a starting role a year removed from playing middle school ball were gone.

“If you ever do that again I’ll kill you,” his quarterback coach said jokingly as he returned to the sideline.

Bowman was thrust into an intense situation, filling in for senior Air Force commit Sam Barry, who was lost for the season with two knee injuries.

By the end of the season, head coach Randy Jackson and his staff knew they made the right choice in calling up Bowman from the freshman team over several options who were older than him.

“It’s pretty difficult call,” Jackson said. “We sat down and said we were going into Week 3 playing Weatherford at home and we just said we think the next best kid is a freshman. Why not roll with him?”

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman learned he earned the starting nod the Saturday after Week 2, and would have six days to learn the entire offense in preparation for his first start. It was a week that saw him arrive at school at 6 a.m. and not leave until 8 p.m.

“That week was trying to handle sleep and school and everything,” he said.

Bowman ended his freshman season with 1,676 yards passing and 12 touchdowns for the Mustangs. He threw 12 interceptions, but only one came in the last four games.

“Knowing you have to throw it quicker and you have to throw it on time, it was really hard to grasp,” Bowman said. “Really being around there longer helped me out and I feel like the coaching staff and everything really helped me because they were really supportive about everything.”

When Bowman joined the varsity squad last year, it was still Barry’s team. Bowman said he was embraced by his teammates, but it took him the season to find a connection with everyone.

Jackson said Bowman’s biggest strength heading into his sophomore year is fully holding the reigns of the program.

Bowman said he throws for an hour a day, five days a week through the summer, organizing sessions with four or five of his wide receivers.

He also has pulled together a committee of private instructors that each focus on an individual aspect of the throwing motion.

His top coach is Hank Speights, who is second-in-command to the nationally famous “quarterback whisperer” George Whitfield. Whitfield made a name for himself coaching former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and has given private instruction to four Heisman Trophy winners and the last three quarterbacks picked No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft.

The continuity Bowman will bring to the Mustang football program over the next three seasons is exciting to Jackson, he said. Jackson also believes it will bring the spotlight on himself individually as well.

“He’s going to be a good football player this year but I think his junior and senior year, I think he’s going to be a well-known quarterback in the Metroplex,” Jackson said. “He’s going to know our offense as good as anybody. We think our future is bright and one of the reasons is we have a quarterback the next three years.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Mustangs quarterback thriving after ultimate trial by fire."