Class Of 2020 RB Demarckus Bowman Signs Letter Of Intent

The Tigers went into Lakeland, Florida, a well known pipeline to Gainesville, and pulled one of the nations best running backs in Demarckus Bowman into the fold. If you need an example of how strong the Clemson brand is currently, this is it.

At 5’10 and 191 pounds, the five star running back is listed as the nations second best running back in the 247 Composite. He is the second best player from the state of Florida, and the 21st best player overall nationally. Jeff Scott was the primary recruiter, with an assist from Tony Eliott. Bowman picked Clemson over Georgia and Florida, who led for the running back up until the spring.

The top back on the Tigers board, he ran a 4.47 40, 10.82 100 meter dash, a 4.31 shuttle, and had a 36 inch vertical at The Opening regional. He is a north-south style runner with excellent acceleration and should develop into a guy capable of taking it to the house every time he touches the ball. He also possesses great field vision. As with most running backs, his pass protection skills will need to be honed, and his pass catching skills need work, but with Travis Etienne expected to enter the draft, Bowman is a guy capable of coming in and contributing as a freshman.

QT’s Take:

So low key, I think Bowman is the most impactful offensive player we sign in this class (at least next season). With ETN likely heading to the NFL, the RB room has a huge hole to fill. Dixon showed he can be a nice piece of the puzzle and Mellusi or Dukes can contribute, but Bowman can be the next truly great Clemson RB (and soon).

Once it became apparent that Zach Evans was going to go in ten different directions, Bowman was the next RB for everyone in the country to target (and he might turn out better than Evans for a host of reasons frankly). I wouldn’t trade Bowman for anyone is what I am saying. Add to it that we establish Lakeland connections (I miss your recruiting already Jeff Scott), and Florida can’t ever get back into the recruitment they thought they had locked down at one point...lovely....

Bowman gives you speed and toughness. He is durable and has played his best in the biggest of games throughout his career. He can catch out of the backfield and understands how to hit the hole and accelerate through contact. Really the only question for seeing the field next season is grasping the offense and pass protection. Going to be a fun three years.