Alan Bowman is spending his final season with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but he wasn’t always a Cowboy. His college football journey started some 400 miles south at Texas Tech. Leaving us to wonder, why did Bowman transfer to Oklahoma State?
Why Did Alan Bowman Transfer to Oklahoma State?
Bowman burst onto the scene as a freshman playing for Kliff Kingsbury’s Texas Tech. In just eight games, Bowman passed for 2,638 yards and 17 touchdowns before suffering a collapsed lung and missing time.
Bowman returned in 2019 but played in just three games and earned a medical redshirt due to injury. Bowman came back in 2020 and played in eight games in 2020 but never found his stride in Tech’s new offense without Kingsbury there.
Alan Bowman’s First Transfer
Bowman elected to transfer from Texas Tech before the 2021 season. Bowman ended up at Michigan for the 2021 and 2022 seasons after Joe Milton departed from the program. However, his stint with the Wolverines wasn’t productive, as he threw just 11 passes in two seasons and never became a significant challenger for the starting gig.
With his extended eligibility due to a medical redshirt and the COVID-19 rules running out, Bowman had one last year to earn a starting job and compete in college football. Thus, he left a successful Michigan team to enter the portal.
Bowman’s Journey to Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State entered the 2023 season in a bit of a mess. Quarterback Spencer Sanders had entered the transfer portal and left for Ole Miss, and it left the Cowboys without a real clear answer at quarterback, having Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy left to choose from and neither of them having convincing success or experience.
This was the right situation for Bowman. Returning both closer to home (Grapevine, Texas) and into a room where he could provide leadership and emerge as the starter was a smart move for Bowman.
MORE: College Football Transfer Portal Tracker
While the Cowboys had an odd quarterback rotation between the room to start the 2023 season, Bowman has locked down the starting job and has played a part in Oklahoma State’s four-game winning streak entering Bedlam. Bowman has provided some stability and his experience has been a boon to their offense, even if running back Ollie Gordon II has emerged as the primary focal point of Oklahoma State’s offense.
Bowman has thrown for 1,580 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He will need to play at a high level once more if the Oklahoma State Cowboys are to pull off the upset over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Bedlam rivalry.