Clemson’s football coaches said Saturday night that they had been surprised by five-star running back Demarkcus Bowman’s resolve this week to enter the movement portal with his mind already set on playing for Florida.
“I didn’t expect that,” Clemson’s head coach Dabo Swinney said after the Tigers’ 41-23 victory over Virginia at Memorial Stadium. “But it’s 2020. There’s a lot of things that take you off guard in 2020. “
Two days after his close departure was known, Bowman told a fan website, TheSwamp247, on Saturday afternoon that he was transferred to Florida and that Gators coaches had stated that he had engaged.
Florida was intended as the time of selection when the Home State Bowman originally committed to Clemson. According to the 247 recruiting reviews, he was the third ball carrier in the country and number 20 overall when he was at Lakeland High School, where he ran for more than 5,000 yards (11. 4 consistent with haul) ‘and 71 touchdowns in three seasons. He played Clemson’s first two games this season and had 32 yards on nine hauls.
Bowman told some media outlets why for his resolution the recent death of his maternal grandfather, who lived in Atlanta and could attend the fullest of Clemson’s house games in addition to an October 17 at Georgia Tech. high school games, Bowman said.
“I started to feel uncomfortable after my grandfather died,” Bowman told The Lakeland, Florida Ledger. “This is the closest circle of relatives I have here. I was Atlanta. La only explanation as to why I went to Clemson was so that I only have a chance to come and watch me play because he can never see me play as a user in high school. So that was one of the main explanations I came here to Clemson. After his death, I just sought to be closer to my circle of relatives in Florida. After his death, he had no one else here. “
Clemson’s offensive coordinator, Tony Elliott, said he had no idea Bowman wasn’t even thinking about a transfer.
“I didn’t see it coming, ” said Elliott. ” You sense that all young men are sick at home. But Demarkcus is an intelligent young man. He did things the right way. I don’t have a problem. It’s just bad luck. just one of the conditions in which things temporarily accumulated him and felt like the most productive thing for him to get a little closer home. “
“He’s a smart boy, ” said Swinney. ” I was just looking to be closer to home, so you wish him luck . . . Hopefully, he’ll get on a smart stage and be the player I know he can be. “