Illinois and Iowa kickoff the recruiting process for 2028 ATH and NFL legacy recruit Grant Bowen

Elmhurst (Ill.) Immaculate Conception 2028 athlete Grant Bowen landed his first two offers of the process on Thursday from Illinois and Iowa.

“Excited about the opportunities at two great programs with outstanding coaching staffs and a winning culture,” Bowen said. “Both Iowa and Illinois have proven to develop talent at a high level.”

The 6-foot-4 205-pound Bowen is the son of former Hawkeye and NFL standout Matt Bowen.

“It was a good day for him,” the elder Bowen said. “It’s exciting.”

Bowen has the traits to be one of the Midwest’s top prospects in his class.

“I think the thing that stands out about Grant is his versatility as an athlete,” his father said. Matt also coaches at the high school. “He’s a two-way starter, can play at the outside linebacker position and has good feel for space, a good understanding route concepts and finding the ball in coverage and I also thinks he’s a good run defender and with his length and speed can cut off the ball on the edges and make plays in space.

“On offense he plays the X position for us and with his frame and downfield speed he can be an isolation target for us and also provides catch and run ability.”

The intangibles for Grant standout as much as the ability.

“High-football character,” his father said. “Great teammate. That shows in our program.”

Bowen will be at Northwestern on Saturday. He plans on getting to Illinois and Iowa soon.