Jarret Johnson for Inside the Red Raiders
It looks as if quarterback Alan Bowman has taken his last snap as a Red Raider as the 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore announced on social media he will be entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Bowman appeared in 19 games over the last three seasons. He threw for 1,602 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight appearances this past season in which the Red Raiders finished 4-6. His best season was during his true freshman season under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. That season Bowman passed for 2,638 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight appearances. Bowman started and appeared in just three games as a sophomore due to injury during the 2019 season when he ended up redshirting. Over the course of his career at Texas Tech Bowman completed 471-of-713 pass attempts for 5,260 yards, 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
The former three-star recruit out of Grapevine (TX) was rated as an 85 prospect, the No. 899 overall player in the country, the No. 37 pro-style quarterback in the nation and the No. 126 overall player in Texas for the 2018 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite, an average of the major recruiting rankings services. Bowman signed with Texas Tech over reported offers from Arkansas State, Cincinnati, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgia State, Houston, Illinois, Incarnate Word, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, Ole Miss, Rice, San Diego State, Southern Miss and Texas State.
Bowman has suffered several injuries throughout his brief career beginning with a collapsed lung, the same lung, his true freshman season. After recovering successfully from those injuries he broke his collarbone in 2019 which cost him most of the season. He also hurt an ankle this past season early in the game against Kansas State on Oct. 3. Though he missed most of that game, he returned the following week.
The NCAA transfer portal was enacted on Oct. 15, 2018, providing athletes a path to explore their options. Players do not need to ask permission from their coaching staff in order to transfer. They just need to request that compliance enter their name. It normally takes 1-2 days for a player to appear following their request. Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal.
While a player entering their name in the transfer portal means they intend to explore their options, it does not necessarily mean they will leave. A player is free to withdraw his name at any time. However, schools are under no obligation to keep a player on scholarship once they enter the portal.