Seth McGowan receives invite to Senior Bowl

A new era of Kentucky football has arrived with the hiring of Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to run the program in Lexington. Change is coming to the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. While the pieces are being put in place for the 2026 team, some members of the 2025 team are moving forward with their football journey. One key part of last year’s team has emerged as a draftable prospect.

Seth McGowan was a spring transfer addition from New Mexico State who immediately became a starter at Kentucky. The class of 2020 recruit was one of Kentucky’s most consistent players this season. That could end with McGowan hearing his name called at the 2026 NFL Draft.

On Tuesday, the tailback received an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

Officially Accepted!

RB Seth McGowan (@Sjmcg_28) from @UKFootball is headed to the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl 🔥#TheDraftStartsInMobile #WherePlayersPlay pic.twitter.com/5rhl3Z1U6o

— Panini Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) December 9, 2025

The Senior Bowl is the most popular showcase event for the NFL Draft that will feature some of the best players in college football down in Mobile for a week for practice and an all-star game. During the event at South Alabama’s football facility, every NFL team will be in attendance as the draft season unofficially gets rolling in January. Kentucky will be represented at the event again.

Seth McGowan began is career at Oklahoma before being dismissed from Lincoln Riley’s program for an off-field arrest. After a long journey back, McGowan reemerged at New Mexico State in 2024. That created an opportunity in the SEC in 2025. In his only season with the Wildcats, the former four-star recruit rushed for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns while chipping in 19 receptions. McGowan showed some toughness by having to play through injuries. That solid year has led to an opportunity.

The Kentucky tailback will look to secure a draft spot at the Senior Bowl next month.

Luckett’s Scouting Notebook: Seth McGowan

Ahead of the 2025 season, I put together scouting write-ups on all of Kentucky’s transfer portal additions. This is what I saw on tape when digging into Seth McGowan.

A top-200 prospect and a top-25 player in Texas in the 2020 high school recruiting cycle. The Mesquite (Texas) Poteet rushed for over 3,700 yards and 45 touchdowns during his prep career. McGowan spent one season at Oklahoma when he appeared in seven games, rushed for 370 yards, recorded 201 receiving yards, and scored four touchdowns. Off-field arrest led to some time off and multiple years spent in junior college. Re-emerged at New Mexico State in 2024 where he rushed for 838 yards and chipped in 23 receptions while scoring six total touchdowns.

McGowan is a downhill runner who does a good job of making one cut and finding daylight. The tailback does not have breakaway speed and can be chased down. Does a good job keeping his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and getting vertical. This leads to some broken tackles (67 missed tackles forced on 210 career carries) and splash runs (17.1% explosive run rate). Flashes contact balance on film. Is a real weapon as a receiver on screens, wheels, and swings out of the backfield. Runs high and can take some shots at the second level. Possesses good leg drive that can create yards after contact.

McGowan is an experienced tailback with good size who fits a downhill scheme. The transfer will also give the offense a receiving option out of the backfield that likely separates him from the rest of the room.