Ready to report: Jeff Bowie
Now up to 274 pounds, West Branch defensive lineman Jeff Bowie is ready to report to Iowa City and looks forward to his freshman year with the Hawkeyes. We caught up with Bowie this week to discuss making the transition to college, his ability to play inside and outside on the defensive line, and much more.
Q: What’s it been like for you this spring as you wrap up your senior year of high school? Are you already done at this point?
BOWIE: I actually have until Friday is my last day, so I’m not done yet. I’m a little later than everyone else I guess. But it’s an exciting time because the next step from here is moving to Iowa and I know all the guys are excited and ready for that. All I’m doing right now is lifting and focusing on being as ready as I can when I get there.
Q: What did you think of Iowa’s workout program once they sent it to you and you got into it a little bit?
BOWIE: It’s a really good program. It’s really intense and I’ve really had a lot of success in it so far. I’m already up to 274 pounds, so the program just has me exploding right now and you can’t ask for much more than that, especially since I’m not even there yet.
Q: When do you actually make the move or are you commuting this summer since you’re so close?
BOWIE: I’m moving into the dorms on June 12th.
Q: Are you taking classes this summer or just focused on workouts?
BOWIE: I don’t think I’ll have any classes, but I’ll be there for all the team workouts.
Q: You have a pretty extensive background in weightlifting already. Where did that interest come from?
BOWIE: It was always just a thing where I wanted to lift to get better for football, so it was never really my intention to be just a weightlifter, but as things went along I got pretty strong pretty fast when I was younger so I ended up going to the junior Olympics and a bunch of different competitions with my dad where we got to travel and just have a trip together but at the same time compete in something I love and powerlift and set some records and things like that. It never really was my intention to start doing that, but once I started doing it for football I really liked it and it kind of kept going from there.
Q: Did your dad have a background in powerlifting or just a passion for it?
BOWIE: He played football in high school and a little bit in junior college and he was really strong too, but when he was in eighth grade he was like 6-4, 135 pounds, so he told me he had to spend a lot of time in high school just catching up and didn’t want me to have to do that so I started lifting when I was pretty young and really liked it once I got introduced to it.
Q: Beyond workouts, what are you looking forward to in starting your college career?
BOWIE: I’ve just always wanted to be a Hawkeye so for that to be finally here and be true is a great feeling. My family has supported me a lot and it’s going to be a great time. Also, just the chance to get to meet everyone too because you see them on recruiting visits normally, but we haven’t even had those in so long that everyone is kind of dying to get back together.
Q: Who are some of the guys in your recruiting class that you have stayed in touch with the most?
BOWIE: Cooper DeJean is going to be my roommate, so we talk pretty much every day. Then I talk to Max Llewellyn and some of the defensive line guys too. We have a group chat, so it’s like we all keep in touch quite a bit.
Q: You were with Cooper at Kinnick Stadium for the last spring practice. What was it like watching that now that you are so close to being out there yourself?
BOWIE: Yeah, when you know how close it is to you being out there, it’s kind of cool just to watch one last time but you’re just wishing you could be out there now obviously too. It was really cool to see Arland Bruce and some of them out there playing well at practice, just knowing they got there and are already having some success in our class.
Q: Coaching wise, how often do you stay in touch with Coach Bell and what have you heard from him this spring?
BOWIE: I talk to Coach Bell every once in a while and I’ll give up an update on what I’m weighing and how things are going or we’ll talk a little bit, but I try not to bug him too much because I know they are recruiting the next class and focused on that right now. But we have conversations every once in a while and keep in touch and I know we’re both excited for everyone to get there.
Q: They have kind of moved away from guys just learning defensive end or defensive tackle in general, but are you kind of coming in with the ability to play both anyway?
BOWIE: Yeah. He’s told me how he likes his guys to be able to play anywhere and that’s really understandable. I think that’s a good philosophy to have and I don’t have a problem playing anywhere. Obviously, now with my size up where it is, I’m a pretty good candidate to play either of them and have high school experience at both with two years at defensive end and two years at defensive tackle when we switched to a three-front. I don’t have a problem playing either/or and I think no matter what I’ll be ready to learn from Coach Bell.
Q: What are you coming in at height and weight wise again?
BOWIE: Right now, I’m 6-5, 274 pounds.
Q: Have you found out what number you are wearing in college?
BOWIE: No, I really haven’t asked. I know a lot of the numbers are taken, so I don’t know what the situation is going to be, but I really haven’t put too much thought into it because I was #62 in high school and obviously that’s retired at Iowa so I’m going to have to change numbers anyway. Whatever is available, I don’t really have a problem with. We’ll find out when I get there.
Q: The last question I always ask is when you look back at your decision, what was it about Iowa that made you comfortable calling it your home for college?
BOWIE: There are a lot of reasons I was comfortable with it and none really that I wasn’t. Being just 10 minutes away from my house is a big deal and still being real close to all of my family will be great. Obviously the coaches were important, especially as your start to build a bond with them. Knowing that I want to play in the NFL, that’s been my goal since I was a kid, and seeing all of the success they’ve had and the way they develop players, there’s not a better place you could go. When you’re not a huge recruit and you want to get developed, or even if you are a big recruit there’s still a lot of room for improvement, and the coaches at Iowa do a really good job with that. I think everyone knows that by now.
A three-star prospect, Bowie committed to Iowa on January 25, 2020, choosing the Hawkeyes over scholarship offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas State, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Northern Illinois.
As a senior, Bowie finished the season with 20.5 tackles, 11 TFL, four sacks, and a fumble recovery for West Branch.
See Jeff Bowie's highlights in the video below: