Texas football should pursue former Clemson transfer RB Demarkcus Bowman

Texas football would be wise to at least look deeper into what interest Clemson transfer running back Demarkcus Bowman would have in landing in Austin.

One of the biggest names to show up in the NCAA Transfer Portal to date this year (even including the 2020 offseason) is the Clemson Tigers former five-star running back recruit and true freshman Demarkcus Bowman. Bowman’s name reportedly (per ESPN) showed up in the transfer portal on Oct. 1 after less than a full year with head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program. But this could be a big opportunity for the Texas football program to get a big name at running back to the Forty Acres.

The 5-foot-10 and 190 pound ultra-talented running back Bowman only got game action in two contests for Clemson so far in the current season. He registered 32 rushing yards, no receiving yards and no touchdowns, on nine attempts through those two games he played in so far this season.

Now that he’s in the transfer portal, Bowman is likely to take the rest of the season off. He very likely won’t be eligible wherever he lands next to play this year, and he could face a challenge to be eligible to even play next season given that he’s just a first-year player.

This former elite five-star running back product hailing from Lakeland High School in Lakeland, FL, actually didn’t have all that many offers back during the 2020 recruiting cycle. But that was largely due to the early interest he had in Clemson and the Florida Gators, and the inability that most other schools had to get in the race to land his commitment.

He held 17 schools on his offer sheet. The highlighting schools included Clemson, Florida, Texas, the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Tennessee Volunteers.

What Demarkcus Bowman could bring for Texas football

Bowman ranked as the nation’s No. 20 2020 high school prospect, No. 3 running back, and No. 4 prospect out of Florida (247Sports Composite). He even ranked among the top 400 high school prospects of all-time for 247Sports (at least since they started doing mass recruiting rankings roughly two decades ago).

Since head coach Tom Herman, running backs coach Stan Drayton, and the Longhorns were after Bowman when he was getting recruited out of high school this could be a good opportunity to get his interest to the Forty Acres. He would be a fantastic addition to the running back room alongside the nation’s top rated high school prospect at the position for the 2020 cycle, Salpointe Catholic product Bijan Robinson.

Think about the future of a Texas backfield that includes sophomore Roschon Johnson, Bijan, and Bowman.

The other notable running backs that the Longhorns have in the mix for the future are still the former four-star recruit and Buford, GA, native Derrian Brown, senior Daniel Young (if he returns next season), and three-star 2021 Hallettsville commit Jonathon Brooks. Texas is also trying to line up a commitment from the talented four-star Cy-Fair running back LJ Johnson in their 2021 recruiting class.

There might be a tendency for Bowman to look for schools closer to home before considering transferring to Texas. Competing programs like Florida, Florida State, and Miami might be able to pull the geographic relevance card to win over Bowman. But it is at least worth the Longhorns looking into the interest that Bowman has in coming to Austin heading into next season.