Bowman receives plaudits

By Michael Casagrande

Decatur (Ala.) Daily

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- His last name isn't Richardson, Fluker or Kirkpatrick. Michael Bowman didn't have the full spotlight that some freshman football players had when arriving at Alabama this summer.

But the former Ridgeland High School star is showing signs of his potential while earning the respect of his coaches and teammates. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Bowman stands out from the crowd of receivers, and coach Nick Saban has taken notice.

"I would say we're certainly going to try to coach and develop him this year, and we're hopeful that he can contribute in some way to our team," Saban said.

Bowman is not a complete unknown. He came out of high school with a solid reputation and a last name known for top-flight receiving. His brother, Adarius Bowman, was an all-conference receiver at Oklahoma State after transferring from North Carolina and currently plays in the Canadian league.

Mark Mariakis, Michael Bowman's high school coach in Rossville, Ga., saw him mature at a steady pace until his senior year. That was when the tall receiver took his game to the level of a Division I prospect. His 37 catches for 1,075 yards made him the No. 14 receiver in the nation according to Scout.com.

Body control is Bowman's greatest strength, Mariakis said, and coaches from camps and combines Bowman attended backed it up. Mariakis said he kept hearing how impressed people were with Bowman's ability to jump off either foot and adjust to passes no matter how they were thrown.

About 45 scholarship offers rolled in from Southern California to the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Alabama eventually won the sweepstakes. And he proved his worthiness in the homestretch of his senior season.

Bowman's defining moment, Mariakis said, came in the first round of the Georgia state playoffs. Ridgeland was playing Carver of Atlanta, which featured all-state cornerback Darren Myles, now a freshman at Tennessee.

Bowman had told his coach that Myles was afraid to line up against him, and in the first half another corner lined up opposite the all-stater. By the second half, after Bowman already had a touchdown, Myles moved over to cover him.

At that point, Bowman begged his coaches to call a fade route. They did and Bowman beat Myles for a 67-yard touchdown in the 33-0 blowout win.

"That's just Mike," Mariakis said. "He just thought, 'Give me the ball and let me take care of business.' The last half of the season, those stories were numerous where he'd come back and say, 'Coach, this guy can't cover me. Give me the ball.'"

Away from the field, Bowman is a jokester with the ability to mimic the mannerisms of his high school coaches well enough to have everyone "rolling," Mariakis said.

Alabama junior receiver Earl Alexander didn't mention anything about Bowman doing Saban impressions, but he did recognize his comedic abilities -- a rare attribute for newcomers. And he continues to mature, Mariakis said.

Learning which path led to success came with examples of wrong turns. Big brother Adarius had run-ins with the law involving drugs that contributed to a fall from a potential first-round NFL draft pick to going undrafted and to Canada.

Mariakis had conversations with the younger Bowman on the topic and is confident those pitfalls will not adversely affect his life.

"Mike's always had an idea of what he wants to do," Mariakis said. "I think seeing people around him that he cares about make the bad choices, he realized, 'This is real-life stuff and I can't afford to have one slip-up.'"