Lynn Bowden is stealing John Calipari’s recruiting pitch. A line Coach Cal used to land Kevin Knox is a big part of the pitch Kentucky’s versatile playmaker is selling to teams as he prepares for the NFL Draft.
A wide receiver when Bowden first arrived in Lexington, he added punt returner, run-first Wildcat quarterback and full-time starting quarterback to his resume in only three seasons. When asked which position he prefers at the next level, ‘any position’ is the answer.
“I can play wherever you want me to play,” he said Tuesday morning in Indianapolis.
“Just put the ball in my hands. We’ll go from there. Give me the first shot to touch the ball and I’ll show them why Kentucky took a chance on me… I’ll work out at D-lineman if they want me to.”
When Bowden initially made the move from wide receiver to quarterback, many feared it may have damaged his draft stock. He believes it had the opposite effect.
“I feel like it helped me a lot,” he said. “They (NFL teams) appreciated that I did that. I was a team-player first and didn’t think about myself.”
Bowden’s intangibles in the locker room aren’t what make him most attractive to NFL teams. As offenses expand and become more dynamic, they need players that can line up from multiple positions to put defenses on their heels. In 2019 one-third of running back Christian McCaffrey’s touches were receptions. In his rookie season former South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel ran the ball on 20% of his touches and returned kicks for the 49ers. To put it plainly, Bowden is entering the league at the right time.
“I want to do everything I can. If I’m fortunate enough to get there, I want to play everything. I ain’t trying to be a basic guy. I want to be that guy. I want to be a superstar at every position that I can.”
Lynn Bowden does not need a position next to his name to hear it called at the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. More from his conversation with the media in Indy…
Randall Cobb Comparisons
Bowden isn’t the first Kentucky wide receiver to also take snaps at quarterback before being drafted in the NFL. Even though their games aren’t identical, Bowden enjoyed hearing the comparisons to Cobb last season.
“We both are different people, but to be compared to him is something good. It motivated me. People had high expectations for me and I just wanted to set the standard, raise the bar.”
NFL teams meeting with Bowden
Year after year we hear less and less about who is meeting with what team. Bowden did not provide explicit details about his meetings with NFL teams. He does expect to speak to all 32 before the week is finished and confirmed he’s already spoken with the Tampa Bay Bucs. There’s one question every team is asking: Why did you punch that Virginia Tech guy in the face?
“That’s the most asked question I got since I’ve been here. I just tell them the whole thing. I regret it. I did it. We won,” Bowden smiled. “They just wanted me to get kicked out of the game. They knew they couldn’t beat us — 233 yards.”
What’s in store for UK in 2020
Like the rest of the folks around the Kentucky football program, Lynn Bowden is ready to see the Wildcats in Atlanta. All gas, no brakes.
What will life after Lynn Bowden be like for UK Football? “SEC Championship.” pic.twitter.com/QltrX9d8pi
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) February 25, 2020
Changing Transfer Rules
The NCAA could soon enact a rule that allows players a one-time exemption to transfer to another D-I school and play right away. Bowden actually once considered leaving UK after his freshman season.
“I feel like without him, I probably wouldn’t have been at Kentucky,” Bowden said of Vince Marrow. “If I didn’t have a talk with him, I probably — I was gone.”
If that rule was around a few years ago, Bowden is confident he could’ve made a similar impact at any other school. Ultimately, he’s happy that Marrow convinced him to stay at UK. He probably won’t be the last player Vince convinces to remain at Kentucky.
“The ones that’s committed, they’re gonna stay committed. The ones that really don’t want to be there, those are the ones that are gonna jump. I was almost in their shoes but I’m glad I made that decision to stay.”
A Lynn, Lamar Combo?
A few early mock drafts project Bowden falling to the Ravens in the NFL Draft. Even though it may leave Kentucky fans feeling conflicted, Bowden would be the happiest man on Earth. After all, Lamar Jackson is the guy he emulated last year at quarterback and the guy he always plays with on Madden.
“That’s my boy. We’re going to put the past behind us,” he said. “I feel like if my freshman year when we played against him, it would’ve been a shootout if I was at quarterback.”
The Only TV Shows Bowden Watches
If the TV is on he’s either watching Bubble Guppies or Paw Patrol, just what you’d expect.
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