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James Franklin speaks highly of early signee, dual-threat QB Micah Bowens
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There’s a lot to like about Penn State’s 2020 recruiting class. Once again, James Franklin is bringing a top 15 class to State College, complete with 11 four-star athletes.
But one of the players Franklin seemed most eager to talk about during the Early Signing Period on Sunday was three-star, dual-threat quarterback Micah Bowens. The Las Vegas quarterback was one of 27 players to sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.
At just 6-foot, Bowens was listed as the No. 17 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class, and ranks in the top 450 overall in the 2020 class. But Franklin says it’s Bowens’ attitude and work ethic that he admires most.
“Micah is a guy we identified very early on as a dynamic playmaker coming from a big time high school program,” Franklin said. “Also, very impressed with his maturity. It’s amazing how many red eyes he jumped on by himself to fly all the way across the country to come to camp or come compete in games or whatever it is. Pretty impressive as a high school aged student. Can make plays with his feet, can make plays with his arm, can make plays with his mind.
“I think the one knock on Micah or maybe two is he’s not 6-3, but I would say Micah saw probably some Trace McSorley in himself. I think these guys watch certain programs and they look at certain players and say, will my game translate? So I think Trace helped with that. He’s got a little bit of a long release. He kind of winds it up a little bit, but the ball jumps off his hand.”
Drawing a comparison to McSorley is obviously a pretty strong compliment for Bowens. The three-year starter at Penn State led the team to a B1G title, back-to-back 10-win seasons and set numerous school records.
Penn State is already in great shape at the quarterback position, with Sean Clifford and Will Levis in the top two spots on the depth chart. Adding another talented prospect into the room only helps the program, though.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB