Da'Quan Bowers

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Da'Quan Bowers
Da'Quan Bowers
Bowers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Personal information
Born: (1990-02-23) February 23, 1990 (age 34)
Bamberg, South Carolina
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:288 lb (131 kg)
Career information
College:Clemson
Position:Defensive end
NFL draft:2011 / Round: 2 / Pick: 51
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Tackles:66
Quarterback sacks:7.0
Forced fumbles:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Da'Quan Bowers (born February 23, 1990) is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clemson, where he earned unanimous All-American honors.

High school career

Bowers attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in Bamberg, South Carolina, where he was a two-sport athlete in football and track. He played as a defensive end and running back for the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Red Raiders high school football team. As a senior in 2008, he led the team to an 11–2 record by recording 97 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 14 sacks on defense, whilst on offense he rushed for 1,219 yards and scored 19 touchdowns, he caught two touchdown passes, he averaged 40 yards per kickoff return and also blocked seven kicks.

Bowers also starred in track & field as a shot putter (top-throw of 46-0.75 or 14.35m) and sprinter (11.7s 100m).[3]

Bowers was ranked the No. 1 overall prospect by ESPN.com in 2008,[4] the first Clemson recruit in history to be ranked as the number-one player in the nation by any recruiting service. Rivals.com dubbed Bowers the top defensive end prospect of the high school classes 2005–2009, describing him as "the closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith".[5] He chose Clemson over Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.

College career

Bowers graduated early from high school and enrolled at Clemson University in January 2008, where he was a member of the Clemson Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010.[6] He went through 2008 spring drills and had a game-high seven tackles in the 2008 Spring Game. As a true freshman in 2008, Bowers started six of 13 games, finishing the season with 37 tackles including 8 for loss. During his sophomore year in 2009, Bowers recorded 46 tackles, 10.5 for loss and three sacks, in spite of an injury that forced him to miss three games.

As a junior in 2010, Bowers recorded 67 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He led the nation in sacks and was tied for the most tackles for loss. Following the season, he was a first-team All-ACC selection, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.[7] He was also honored as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.[8]

Professional career

As early as April 2010, Bowers was seen as a candidate for the No. 1 overall spot in the 2011 NFL Draft.[9][10] He remained at the top of most mock draft projections over the course of the season, especially after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who was widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect for the 2011 draft, returned to school. Along with Nick Fairley, Marcell Dareus, and Patrick Peterson, Bowers was still listed among the best prospects available as of January 2011.[11]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 3+3⁄8 in
(1.91 m) 		280 lb
(127 kg) 		33+1⁄8 in
(0.84 m) 		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 4.92 s 1.76 s 2.89 s 4.57 s 6.98 s 34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m)		 9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)		 22 reps ×
All values from Clemson Pro Day, bench press from NFL Combine[12]

Bowers was selected in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bowers was selected lower than expected due to medical issues, including offseason knee surgery. He tore his Achilles tendon on the practice field on May 10, 2012, during the Bucs off-season program. Bowers was activated from the PUP on October 25, 2012. He played his first game of the 2012 season that same night against the Minnesota Vikings.

During the 2014 off-season, Bowers switched to a hybrid defensive end/defensive tackle.[13] Throughout his entire Buccaneer career, he was overwhelmed, unproductive, and got hurt often; earning him a place on the season-ending injury reserved list. His tenure with Tampa Bay came to an end following the 2014 season after yet another unproductive season.

Da'Quan Bowers resigned on July 27, 2015 for the upcoming training camp in order to grab a spot on Tampa Bay's roster.[14] After not making their 53-man final roster, on September 4, 2015, Bowers was cut from the Bucs.

On December 15, 2015 Bowers resigned with the Buccaneers.

Personal

Bowers was born in Bamberg, South Carolina to parents Dennis and Linda Bowers. His father, a gospel singer and guitarist with the Legendary Singing Stars, died on August 8, 2010, in Augusta, Georgia, at the age of 51. Da'Quan Bowers is also a member of The Legendary Singing Stars, occasionally singing lead and playing guitar.[15]

As a child, Bowers looked up to Reggie White. Bowers grew up as a Dallas Cowboys fan and a Los Angeles Lakers fan.[16]

On February 17, 2013, Bowers was arrested in New York City at La Guardia Airport on weapons charges after voluntarily turning over a loaded .40-cal handgun to security at LaGuardia Airport. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.[17] On April 11, 2013, the felony charge was dropped and Bowers pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He paid a $370 fine and his court record was sealed.[18]

References

  1. ^ 2010 Heisman Trophy, College Football Awards
  2. ^ Bowers ACC's Defensive Player of the Year - ACC Blog - ESPN
  3. ^ https://www.trackingfootball.com/players/daquan-bowers-11508/
  4. ^ 2008 ESPN 150
  5. ^ Past vs. Present: Look back at the best
  6. ^ Five January Enrollees Join Clemson Football Program
  7. ^ 2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 12 (2011). Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  8. ^ "2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy". FWAA. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  9. ^ Lande, Russ (April 26, 2010), "Never too early: A first look at the first round of the 2011 NFL draft", Sporting News
  10. ^ Perloff, Andrew (April 27, 2010). "(Way early) 2011 NFL Mock Draft". SI.com.
  11. ^ Banks, Don (January 27, 2011). "Sports Illustrated Mock Draft". Sports Illustrated.
  12. ^ Dagger (2011-04-29). "2011 NFL Combine Results". postgameheroes.com. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  13. ^ http://www.buccaneers.com/team-and-stats/depth-chart.html
  14. ^ https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/625769183473717249
  15. ^ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com – accessed August 2010
  16. ^ Chat: Chat with Da'Quan Bowers - SportsNation - ESPN
  17. ^ Buccaneers Da'Quan Bowers arrested on gun charge
  18. ^ "Bucs DE Bowers pleads guilty to disorderly conduct for bringing gun to LaGuardia". NY Post. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

External links

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