IC Catholic football star Grant Bowen has the game to live up to his family name.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior is a dominant force at both tight end and outside linebacker for the Knights and has 38 Division I offers. The list includes defending national champion Indiana, ranked No. 5 in the current AP Top 25, as well as No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Mississippi, No. 6 Miami, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Alabama.
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“It’s a great blessing to be able to talk with a bunch of coaches and seeing their perspective on what they can provide for you and how they view college football,” Bowen said.
But Bowen values the perspective of his father, Matt, even more. Matt Bowen was a two-way star at Glenbard West and then played safety at Iowa and during a seven-year NFL career. He’s in his 12th season as an assistant at IC Catholic.
“It’s really beneficial to have him around, just being around a great football mind, helping take me on the journey I’ve been through,” Grant Bowen said. “Since early in my life, football has been my main thing.”
But not the only thing. Bowen also plays on the boys basketball team and competed in baseball, track and soccer when he was younger.
“His background as a multiple-sport athlete really helps,” Matt Bowen said. “He saw earlier in his life that he had different movement ability. He’s always been an explosive athlete on the field, whether it’s the basketball court, soccer or football.
“Once you get some teaching with that and put it together with the things he has — the toughness, the football intelligence, the passion to play the game — it makes him a more complete player.”
Grant Bowen said he has received great teaching from his coaches at IC Catholic. He and his father often talk at home about what happened in practice and have a special bond.
“It’s very rewarding coaching your own son,” Matt Bowen said. “I coached him at the youth level, too, sixth through eighth grade. But here it’s special.
“There is a great tradition of winning, outstanding head coach in Bill Krefft and a great coaching staff. So to be able to coach Grant and have our other coaches work with him has been so rewarding.”
It has been rewarding for the Knights too.
“The whole team loves Coach Bowen,” senior quarterback Nate Lang said. “He’s a great coach, knows how to talk to the guys, definitely a player’s coach.
“Everyone loves Grant too. They have a good connection. You can see it on the field, how they talk to each other. It’s all good for the team.”
Grant Bowen is in his third varsity season and second as a two-way starter. As a sophomore, he had 34 catches for 731 yards and 11 touchdowns and recorded 55 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery to help the Knights reach the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
After being named a co-captain by his teammates, Bowen has continued to be highly productive for the Knights (5-0), who are ranked No. 5 in the baiduhai’s Top 25. Through five games, he has 24 catches for 486 yards and seven touchdowns as well as 22 tackles, with four for a loss, and an interception.
“He definitely makes my life a lot easier,” Lang said. “Obviously just from looking at him, ever since he was a sophomore, just the size, the ability and now that trust, that connection that we’ve built from two years of playing, it helps.”
Krefft, who has guided the Knights to four state titles since 2016, has coached plenty of talented players, but Bowen stands out.
“Grant is different than anybody I’ve ever coached,” Krefft said. “Grant has the physical ability to be the best player on the field but then also is dialed in like a coach’s kid would be, knowing every nuance of the game.
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“With Grant’s football IQ, the way he carries himself, you could put Grant at any position on the field and he would have success there. I don’t know anybody like that that went through the program at that level.”
No other IC Catholic player has been as heavily recruited as Bowen, who said he intends to begin narrowing his list after the season and hopes to make a commitment early next summer.
The modern recruiting process can be just as taxing as practicing and playing. Bowen is grateful his father has helped guide him through it.
“He’s been a great resource to have,” Bowen said. “He helps me with all my highlight tapes. At home, we talk about not just NFL football but IC football.
“It’s a different time period but still the same principles about how to go through the process and the right way to do it.”
Matt Bowen said college recruiting has changed, though.
“It starts at a much earlier age,” he said. “When I was 16, I was playing sophomore football at Glenbard West. When I was in high school, it was just a short period of time after senior year until signing day, and I wasn’t the level Grant is as a recruit. But even then, it was stressful.
“Now they’re getting offers as a sophomore, and it’s a lot. You have to talk to coaches, you have to talk to recruiting coordinators, you have to talk to GMs now in college football, go to camps. He’s done all that, and I’m extremely proud of him for how he’s handled it and navigated it. He’s been very mature.”
Grant Bowen’s talents, though, have yet to fully mature. That’s an exciting prospect for coaches and a scary thing for opponents.
“I still think he has a lot of growing to do, both physically and mentally, in the weight room, filling out his frame,” Matt Bowen said. “When he’s at the college level, he can be 6-4, 220 pounds, whether it’s outside linebacker or tight end. He has the traits on both side of the football to be an impact player.
“His football character is special. I can see how driven he is to compete.”
Indeed, Grant Bowen aspires to emulate his father’s athletic career.
“I definitely think I can play in the NFL,” he said. “That’s the final goal.”
But that’s not the one he’s focused on reaching at the moment. The Knights want to compete for another state title, and Bowen gives them a leg up.
“The way he plays is different than anyone I’ve coached,” Krefft said. “He walked in ready and started both ways as a sophomore. He feels like a four-year All-Pro already.”
Fortunately for Krefft, he has Grant Bowen for another 1½ seasons. Even Matt Bowen isn’t ready to see his son graduate.
“Coaching Grant has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in this game, and I wish I could buy more time,” Matt Bowen said. “It goes fast.”
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Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.