What if Lynn Bowden wants to play QB in 2020? ‘That’d be a great problem to have.’
It’s more likely that Lynn Bowden will play basketball for John Calipari than be the University of Kentucky’s starting quarterback next year.
During interviews this week, Bowden breezed past the latter notion as if it were a late-arriving defender trying to impede his progress.
“I’m a realistic person,” Bowden said with a laugh. “I’m a receiver right now. I’m just doing what’s best for the team. If I was to end up being a quarterback next year or whatever, that’d just be what’s best for the team.”
With 2019 incumbent starter Terry Wilson expected to return from injury and numerous scholarship quarterbacks waiting in the wings, it’s probably silly to think Bowden could figure into the mix at quarterback. It’s even sillier to ponder because Bowden probably won’t even be on campus by that point.
As a junior, Bowden could leave school to become an early entrant in the 2020 NFL Draft. He says he hasn’t given any thought to what he’ll do following the end of UK’s 2019 season.
“I’m just worried about winning right now,” Bowden said. “We’re at the point right now where we’ve gotta get one out of these next two, and that’s what I’m focused on. I can take care of some of that other stuff down the line. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment right now with my guys.”
Kentucky closes its regular season by hosting Tennessee Martin on Saturday and archrival Louisville on Nov. 30. If all goes well, the Wildcats (5-5) will play in a postseason bowl game.
Could he really come back?
The 6-foot-1 speedster Bowden was mostly mum on his future, but the man who recruited him — Vince Marrow — suspects that UK won’t have the privilege of his services next season.
“I expect him to leave,” Marrow said. “Talking to some of the scouts, they’re very interested in him. I don’t think there’s nothing ... ”
Marrow interrupted himself.
“Well, he could turn around and say, ‘If y’all want me to play quarterback next year I’ll stay.’”
Oh, really?
“That’d be a great problem to have,” Marrow said. “I’ll just put it like that. I think a little bit of him playing quarterback has made him kind of say, ‘Hmm?’ But him and Terry are good friends and I don’t think he’d want any controversy with Terry. But it’d be a great problem to have.”
What once might have seemed ludicrous at least merits a morsel of thought due to how effective Bowden has been running the read-option, an offense to which NFL coaches have warmed up in order to build around quarterbacks with unique skill sets instead of trying to fit those guys into more traditional schemes (see: Lamar Jackson).
Bowden has shown the arm strength but not the accuracy — he’s completed 50 percent of his 54 pass attempts this season — and presumably would need a full offseason to work on his mechanics to have a shot of playing quarterback at the next level.
“Quarterback’s probably the hardest job on the field,” Bowden said. “As Coach (Darin) Hinshaw always says, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.”
Co-offensive coordinator Eddie Gran offered his take on what the hypothetical return and remodeling of Bowden would mean for his unit in 2020.
“We’d be the quadruple option,” Gran said, grinning. “There’d be a different name for the bone. We’d have something different.”
Injuries, Tua and basketball
No matter how tempting the prospect of developing into a full-fledged quarterback could be, if considered at all it would be measured against the possibility of getting injured beyond the bruises he’s endured as an interim signal-caller. Every potential future pro puts career earnings on the line each time they play on Saturdays, and Bowden just by lining up in the backfield has exponentially increased his chances of suffering a season-ending blow. They’d increase tenfold if he came back next year, regardless of position.
This week he reached out to Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama’s starting quarterback who suffered a season-ending injury with the Crimson Tide up 35-7 at Mississippi State. Head coach Nick Saban took heat from some critics about having Tagovailoa on the field at that point in the game, which was near the end of the second quarter.
“He wanted to perfect something,” Bowden said. “Things like that are just tragic. I’m praying for him.”
Injuries can happen at any point in the game, to any player. The magnitude increases when it’s a player like Tagovailoa, or closer to home, Wilson. Bowden, playing out of position for the majority of the season, has emerged as the MVP of what should soon be a fourth straight bowl-eligible UK team.
The case for Bowden to not play in that bowl game is obvious, but there’s little doubt he would suit up.
“His mentality is just like them guys last year,” said Marrow, referencing UK’s multiple NFL draftees who played in the Citrus Bowl. “He’ll want to play in a bowl game. I’m sure people will be saying all this stuff, but he’s a competitor.”
There’s no questioning that. While his quarterbacking days appear to be dwindling, he’s taken to Twitter on multiple occasions and expressed interest in joining the short-handed UK men’s basketball team. Head coach Mark Stoops hasn’t outright dismissed the idea, but of course won’t share his star until the football season is over.
“I can do it,” Bowden said with a smile. “I just gotta have them two meet with each other, Coach Stoops and Coach Cal. I don’t know how that’s gonna go.”
Point guard? Starting quarterback in 2020? NFL wide receiver? Place your bets now; “realistic” runs the gamut when it comes to Bowden.
