ESPN: "How Lynn Bowden became one of the NFL draft's most intriguing players"

The BBN already knows how special Lynn Bowden is, and Kentucky fans understand the sacrifices he made throughout his junior year to not only salvage the Wildcats’ season, but to turn it into something special. In Bowden’s eyes, it wasn’t a sacrifice at all. In fact, “it’s the best thing to ever happen to me,” he says.

That’s according to a new feature on Kentucky’s wide receiver-turned-quarterback, written by Alex Scarborough for ESPN. The story, title “How Lynn Bowden became one of the NFL draft’s most intriguing players,” chronicles UK’s decision to move their star receiver to the QB slot, and Bowden’s thought process along the way. It starts at a place most Kentucky fans probably don’t want to revisit: UK’s loss to South Carolina on the road this season, where the Cats fell to the Gamecocks in embarrassing fashion. Even with a loss, Bowden remembers that night and the days that followed it fondly.

Despite the uncertainty of Kentucky’s season, the daunting task of reworking and relearning an entire offense and the long-term ramifications on his own shot at the NFL, Bowden remembers that time as the moment he had the chance to fill a roll he’d been itching to fill: quarterback.

The ESPN article details the process from there, including the team’s transition to the run game, Mark Stoops’ need for reassurance from his assistants, and the noise Bowden was constantly receiving from those within his own circle. In the end, it worked out for the best. By the end of the season, Bowden was saying things like “come see about it,” and he had certainly earned that right.

“How do I put this in a humble way?” Bowden says in the article. “Some of these teams on defense are not as good as they think they are. They knew we were going to run the ball 50 times a game, and there was only one game I was under 100 yards, and that game I had 99. So …”

That attitude (not to mention his performance on the field) began earning Bowden a lot of attention on the national level. As writer Scarborough points out, Bowden began drawing comparisons to former UK great Randall Cobb. There’s another comparison they should have considered, too.

“If teams looked closely, they would have seen that Bowden was running many of the same read-option plays Lamar Jackson ran at Louisville and with the Baltimore Ravens. In fact, Bowden started studying Jackson the moment he moved to quarterback. “Just to see how he moves, the way he runs, it was a beautiful thing,” [Bowden] said.”

That hard work is about to pay off for Lynn Bowden. It won’t be the typical NFL Draft; the COVID-19 pandemic has made sure of that. Regardless, Bowden has more-than-earned the right to be there, and he’s ready to soak it all in. After the Draft, he’ll still be going to work, regardless of the team that picks him or the position he’s chosen for.  He knows he can do it all.

“Personally, Bowden sees himself as a Deebo Samuel type — primarily a wide receiver in addition to a threat to run the Wildcat. He wants to continue playing on special teams, too. But where he goes and what position he plays isn’t important. He’s willing to line up at tight end if need be. He can even go in the trenches against the big boys, he said, and “get in someone’s way.”

He just wants the chance to show off his versatility.”

Versatility? That’s certainly something he can do.

For the full feature, head on over to the world wide leader in sports by clicking here. You won’t regret it.