LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) – The moment didn’t escape Mark Stoops. Saturday’s win over Missouri was on the way to being put out of reach by the University of Kentucky. Wideout-made-quarterback Lynn Bowden had just sprinted 34 yards to the Missouri 32 yard line in the fourth quarter.
A Missouri defender shoved Bowden after he’d gone out of bounds, drawing a personal foul penalty. In the old days, Bowden might’ve jumped up woofing, or responded in kind. Instead, he got up and went about his business. (A teammate, Allen Dailey, rushed over to respond and himself drew an unsportsmanlike flag – but not criticism from Stoops, who had no problem with a player taking up for a teammate.)
But it’s Bowden’s response that is the telling moment here. For three games, Bowden has been called upon not just to be Kentucky’s primary offensive threat, but its emotional leader and barometer. He’s the guy who has had to set the tone, and learn a new position, try to learn opposing defenses and work in new offensive wrinkles as Wildcat coaches begin to build an evolving offense around him.
That kind of responsibility will make you grow up a little. And watching Bowden on the field, you can’t help but feel like that has happened for him.
“If you notice, Lynn just took a hard hit and he was so tired and he knew what that meant,” Stoops said. “He knew that was a problem for them to help cap the game. That's a maturity that's hard it teach, you know what I mean? Don't question Lynn's toughness or his pride. I don't think anybody wants to get in a back alley with him. But he understands the importance of that 15 yards there. I also understand guys like Allen and them sticking up for a guy because of the respect they have for Lynn.”
Nobody likes adversity. Nobody wanted to see Terry Wilson’s season end with an injury, or to see backup Sawyer Smith get banged up. But to see a guy like Bowden rise to the occasion, it’s one of those things that you remember long after you forget the stats or the win-loss record.
Bowden himself looks back at the player he was and acknowledges the change.
“I just became a man,” he said. “I was a little selfish my freshman year. I wanted things to go my way. I wanted to play right away, but I had some dogs in front of me. I had to develop into being a dog, and I have a ways to go, but I am a dog right now.”
He’ll get no argument from Missouri, after rushing for 204 yards on 21 carries Saturday night.
It’s one thing for an athlete like Bowden to excel at quarterback. But it cannot be forgotten that Bowden didn’t come to college as a quarterback, and hasn’t played quarterback since high school. A year ago when Kentucky played Missouri, he caught 13 passes for 166 yards and returned a punt for a touchdown.
But playing quarterback in college is a different deal. Bowden isn’t just lining up and improvising. He has to recognize defensive schemes, check into the right plays at the line of scrimmage, go through progressions when he passes and all of those things that the quarterback position entails.
“The way he directs things and understand the offense – there are so many moving parts,” Stoops said. “It's hard for people to totally understand and appreciate what he's doing because it's hard, and emotionally, mentally, and physically it beats you up.”
But watching a guy run 21 times – and at 6-1, 198 pounds, Bowden isn’t exactly built to take a continuous beating – impresses more than anything the toughness that Bowden brings to the game.
“When you’re down there at field level and hearing those shots,” Stoops said, “. . . you know he’s a physical runner.”
Stoops thought for a moment when asked about the toughness Bowden has shown, then compared him favorably with last year’s star of the team, Josh Allen.
“You know, I said this a year ago with Josh Allen when I said early just show me somebody that's better defensively nationwide,” Stoops said. “Sure enough, lo and behold, he ended up winning all the national awards, right? Defensive player of the year, consensus. I said that early. I would say the same thing about build Lynn. There is a lot of tough players out there nationally on offense. . . . I don’t know who is tougher than he is.”
And as the quarterback position continues to ask more of Bowden, he’s mixing maturity with that toughness. For opponents, that’s a dangerous combination.
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