Q&A: Catching up with future PSU Quarterback Micah Bowens

Snyder: What did you know about Penn State before your visit? Obviously, it’s a big football school and all that, but did you know much else?

Bowens: Honestly, I didn’t really know much other than what I’ve seen on TV over the past few years. I knew they always had a good team and that Coach Franklin and his coaches were a good staff, but I didn’t know much else other than that.

Snyder: What did you expect going into that visit? Did you have any sort of relationship with Ricky Rahne? Did you have any feeling for whether or not they were going to offer?

Bowens: I talked to Coach Rahne probably about three weeks before I visited. At the time, I was planning a visit to West Virginia. The coach that gave me my first scholarship offer [Jahmile Addae] made a move to West Virginia recently and he wanted me to come out and see the place. So, after I talked to Coach Rahne and then talked to my dad about it, we said that we might as well go up to Penn State, too, since we were going to be in the area. But other than that, that was pretty much it. I definitely didn’t have any expectations going into the visit. Honestly, I never really thought that they were going to offer me a scholarship my first time there. I just knew it was a great place and a big school, so why not check it out?

Snyder: Talk to me about the visit then. How impressed were you? What did you think about getting the offer?

Bowens: There was a lot. When we first got there, it was me, my teammates, my coach and my dad. The first thing we see when we walked into the place was the entire coaching staff waiting to greet us at the same time. I had never seen anything like that before. No other school had done that for us, so I thought that was really cool. They had the red carpet rolled out for us. But also, I thought that their facilities were great. I really liked their weight room, the locker room, all of that stuff. Their coaches were really cool, too, so it was great. I immediately felt a good connection with all of their coaches. They’re a cool group and I just knew right away that they could help me get to that next level. They could help me do a lot.

Snyder: What was it like sitting down with Rahne and going over their quarterback film? I assume that was your first chance to really learn about him as a coach? Also, can you talk about earning the offer from Coach Franklin? What was that like?

Bowens: After we got done taking all the photos and all of that, one of their coaches told me that Coach Rahne wanted to meet with me in his office. So, I went up there and we went through a bunch of their plays and concepts and everything they do up there. That gave me a really good feel for their offense. Honestly, from that moment on, I realized that I not only had a pretty good connection with Coach Rahne, but that this offense was perfect for me. But yeah, when I got the offer, I was totally shocked. I wasn’t expecting to be offered the first time I was there. I guess I impressed them when I was able to meet them that day. But I was totally shocked. I was really surprised.

Snyder: What was it like then when you went home? You committed basically three weeks after visiting the school for the first time, so what was going through your head and what were your discussions like with your family? I know dad got to come with, but did mom approve of you going all the way across the country?

Bowens: So, my commitment was actually a surprise for my dad’s birthday. We had a party for him and as a collective present, we all created these short videos for him. It was just our way of telling him how much we appreciate him and love him, things like that. At the end of my video is when I committed. I actually decided probably a week before, so it was hard for me to keep that to myself that whole time. The only person that actually knew was my older sister, who created the video. But my mom and dad have always wanted what’s best for me. My mom took it a little hard at first because she wants me to stay closer to home, but she also knows that’s not necessarily the best decision for me. I need to go on and become my own person. I know she definitely understands that. She’s proud of me. My dad has always wanted what’s best for me and he really liked Penn State. I think he liked it maybe even more than I did, so he completely understood.

Snyder: Have you been able to communicate with any of the other committed players yet?

Bowens: Yeah, I’ve talked to all of the committed guys already. I’m also talking to a few guys that I’m trying to get to commit. So far, it’s going pretty well.

Snyder: That leads me to my next question. Penn State also offered Rome Odunze and Darnell Washington, who both visited with you. What’s your relationship like with those two? How hard do you plan to push PSU on those guys?

Bowens: So Darnell doesn’t actually go to my school, but we play 7-on-7 together. He’s a big a dude and he’s fun to be around. He’s always joking around with us and we have a lot of fun. I’ve known him for about a year now, maybe a little less than that. Rome goes to Gorman, of course, so we’ve been cool since freshman year. We’ve become really close now. He’s one of my closest friends. I talk to them about [Penn State] all the time. I’ve already planted the seed and I make sure it stays in their mind. Both of them already know that Penn State would be a great place to go to. They have great coaches there and they’re putting together a really good class. Penn State is a place that’s going to win. Those guys know that.

Snyder: Talk to me about this past season. In your first four games as a varsity quarterback, you played Mater Dei (Calif.), Centennial (Ariz.), Orem (Utah) and De La Salle (Calif.). Three of those teams were Top 100 programs in the country. Mater Dei finished No. 1 overall. What was that like considering you were a new to the position? Also, what do you feel like you really improved on throughout the year?

Bowens: I feel like the biggest thing, for me, was getting the experience, especially early in the year when we played some great teams. During my sophomore year I was mainly playing cornerback, so it wasn’t until this year that I started playing quarterback again. So, just getting that experience in those first four games, against four really good teams with really good athletes, showed me what I needed to improve on to be successful. Unfortunately, we started 1-3, but then my teammates rallied and we finished the season really strong, winning a state championship. The team did a really good job coming together.

Snyder: Is there anything in particular that you feel like you really improved on?

Bowens: I would say that I just learned the speed of the game. You have to make decisions quick, especially at quarterback. You’re the leader out there, so not only do you have to make quick decisions during the play, but you also have to read your teammates and read the defense. Just getting that experience helped me a lot as the season went on. I felt like I did a much better job by the end of the year making sure that our plays went according to plan.

Snyder: For my last question, I like to give you an opportunity to say something to Penn State fans. It can be whatever comes to mind. Anything in particular you’d like to say?

Bowens: I would just like to say thank you for all the love last week. That was amazing. But also, just know that I’m going to help recruit a few more guys. I’m going to make sure we bring another great group of players to Happy Valley.