Ross Bowers (American football)
Ross Buchanan Bowers (born November 19, 1996) is an American football quarterback.
| Position | Quarterback |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born: | November 19, 1996 Bothell, Washington |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Bothell (Bothell, Washington) |
Early years
Bowers attended Bothell High School in Bothell, Washington. His father, John, was an assistant coach for James Madison football between 2013 and 2016. His mother, Joanne, spent ten seasons as the head women's gymnastics coach for the Washington Huskies between 2006 and 2016.[1]
In 2014, as a senior, he led Bothell High School to a 24–14 win in the 4A State Championship. He scored a touchdown on a flip during this game.[2]
College career
In 2014, Bowers committed to the University of California, Berkeley.[3] He redshirted his first year at California in 2015 and spent 2016 as a backup to Davis Webb.
2017 season
In 2017, Bowers took over as Cal's starting quarterback.[4][5] In his first career start, he completed 24 of 38 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns against UNC.[6]
On October 13, 2017, Bowers led the Golden Bears to a 37–3 win against #8 Washington State. He executed a flip, similar to the one in 2014, to put the Bears up 27–3 in the fourth quarter.[7] This was Cal's first win against a top-ten team since 2003.[8]
The Bears finished the 2017 season with a 5–7 record. Bowers finished the season with 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and over 3,000 yards passing.[1] He is the seventh player in Cal history to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season.
2018 season
Bowers injured his thumb in spring training camp prior to the start of the 2018 season.[9] He started in a season-opening win against North Carolina but did not play in the second half or in subsequent games.[9] Bowers announced his intention to leave the Bears' program on December 19, 2018.[9]
On March 29, 2019, Bowers' father announced via Twitter his son's transfer to Northern Illinois University.[10]
Statistics
| Season | Passing[1] | Rushing[1] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg/P | Avg/G | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 2017 – Cal | 272 | 461 | 59.0 | 3,039 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 18 | 12 | 60 | −142 | −2.4 | 3 |
| 2018 – Cal | 8 | 17 | 47.1 | 56 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | −7 | −2.3 | 0 |
| 2019 – Northern Illinois | 166 | 287 | 57.8 | 2130 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7 | 8 | 34 | −111 | −3.3 | 1 |
| 2020 – Northern Illinois | 123 | 212 | 58.0 | 1365 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 10 | 2 | 20 | −59 | −3.0 | 0 |
| Totals | 569 | 977 | 58.2 | 6590 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 35 | 22 | 118 | −317 | −2.7 | 4 |
References
- "2017 Football Roster: Ross Bowers". CalBears.com.
- "Watch a high school QB do a frontflip into the endzone in state title game". USA Today. December 7, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- "Cal quarterback commit Bowers signs, will enroll early". The Mercury News. September 24, 2014.
- "Ross Bowers named starting QB as Cal reveals depth chart". San Francisco Chronicle.
- "California names Ross Bowers as starting quarterback". USA Today.
- "Cal defeats North Carolina in Wilcox's coaching debut". The Mercury News. September 2, 2017.
- "WATCH: Cal QB nearly pulls off front flip as he scores TD". SI.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- "Cal-WSU Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
- Simmons, Rusty (December 19, 2018). "Cal quarterback Ross Bowers among seven players leaving Bears". sfchronicle.com. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- Helwick, Steve (March 31, 2019). "Former Cal QB Ross Bowers to transfer to Northern Illinois". Hustle Belt. Retrieved November 15, 2019.