Alan Bowman is college football’s resident senior, so picturing him in high school isn’t always easy. But here, we take a look back at Bowman’s high school career.
Where did Bowman get his start in the sport of football, and what ultimately led him to join the Oklahoma State Cowboys?
Where Did Oklahoma State QB Alan Bowman Play in High School?
Bowman played high school football at Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas. There, he first began a long tenure as a starting quarterback at multiple levels of the game.
Before we get into Bowman’s history, let’s do some math. Bowman played at Grapevine High School from 2014 to 2017. In 2018, he joined up with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He’s now entering his seventh season in college football, and for five of those seasons, he’s been a starting QB in some capacity.
Bowman has been playing quarterback for over a decade — 11 years. He’s been a starter, in some capacity, for nine of those 11 years. He was a four-year starter at Grapevine and was a historic producer for his school.
As a freshman at Grapevine, Bowman threw for 1,754 yards and 12 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he put up 27 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. In both his junior and senior seasons, he was named District 8-5A MVP in the state of Texas.
In both 2016 and 2017, Bowman eclipsed 3,000 passing yards and 38 touchdowns. Across his high school career, Bowman totaled 11,393 yards and 119 TDs through the air.
How Did Bowman End Up at Oklahoma State?
In spite of his high school production, Bowman was only granted three-star status as a quarterback recruit in the 2018 cycle. Nevertheless, he still earned a Power conference opportunity with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and challenged for a starting job as a true freshman.
Though Bowman didn’t win the starting job out of the gate at Texas Tech, an injury to the starter quickly forced him into action. And as a true freshman, he thrived.
Bowman played well in Week 1 and Week 2 and delivered a historic performance against Houston in Week 3, breaking the Big 12 freshman record for passing yards in a game with 605 yards.
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A saga with a collapsed lung would limit Bowman to eight games in 2018, but he nonetheless earned his place, passing for 2,638 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing almost 70% of his passes.
Bowman was tabbed as a rising star exiting his highlight-reel 2018 season, but separate shoulder and leg injuries limited his time on the field in 2019 and 2020. He missed most of the 2019 campaign and again only played in eight games in 2020, this time with much lower efficiency.
After two years of less consistent play and availability, Bowman transferred to Michigan to find a fresh start. Cade McNamara beat Bowman and J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in 2021, and McCarthy took the reins in 2023, leaving Bowman buried on the depth chart.
And so, in a similar turn of events, Bowman once again sought out an opportunity to start. That cycle led him to where he is now: Oklahoma State.
Bowman passed for a career-high 3,460 yards with the Cowboys in 2023, and he’s off to another hot start in 2024.
Bowman might not command the most attention as a CFB game-changer or a 2025 NFL Draft prospect, but he’s a productive starter whose sheer experience — from the very start of his football career — is almost impossible to emulate.
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