University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Football a Slam Dunk for Bowman
October 5, 2004 | Football
Oct. 5, 2004
By Adam Lucas
Really, he just wanted a way to stay fit until basketball season.
That's why Adarius Bowman showed up at football practice one summer day at Notre Dame High in Chattanooga, Tenn. A lifelong hoops player, he thought he'd go through the gridiron workouts to keep in shape until it was time to hit the hardwood again. Once he began practicing, however, he began to look at his new hobby in a different way.
"I used to be the thinnest guy you ever saw in your life," Bowman says. "So I just wanted to use football to get a little bigger. But then I got out there and came to find out I was pretty good at it. It shocked me, really."
His shock didn't show. In just two years as a football player, he was twice named Tennessee's "Mr. Football" for the 2-A class, and he earned SuperPrep All-America recognition. Heady stuff for a guy just looking for a way to stay in shape for basketball.
You can still occasionally find him dribbling a ball, as he's a semi-regular participant in the pickup basketball games held by the varsity Tar Heels in the Smith Center. He even mentions a desire to meet with Roy Williams at the conclusion of the football season to explore the possibilities of joining Jesse Holley as the latest wide-receiver-turned-basketball-player on campus.
But despite his hoops flirtations, there's no longer any question about his number-one sport. With his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, he's the type of tall, fast, wide receiver professional teams covet. But even with his physical advantages, he didn't have an immediate impact as a freshman. He played in the season opener, one of just eight players to do so, but caught just 10 passes--two for touchdowns--during his freshman campaign.
"I was looking at guys who seemed like they were 20 times bigger than me," Bowman says. "They looked like the fastest people I'd ever seen in my life. I was stunned and shocked, almost scared to move. I was scared to mess up. Feeling that way can crush you for a long time."
He dropped a seemingly easy slant pass against the Seminoles and says he moped about the drop for the next three games. Fellow rookies Mike Mason (22 catches) and Holley (12) both notched more receptions than Bowman, and he ended 2003 as just the team's tenth-leading receiver.
In the offseason, he dedicated himself to improved physical conditioning. His tall frame made him less elastic than some of his smaller teammates, so he worked extensively with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors to improve his flexibility. At the same time he was trying to make himself more limber, he also added considerable muscle, going from 205 pounds when he arrived at Carolina to 220 this season. The added weight has made him a more imposing matchup for opposing corners--"I love being physical with those guys, because when you hit them, you know you're going to separate and it's usually not me who winds up on the ground," he says--and also a more effective member of the Carolina offensive package.
John Bunting and Gary Tranquill value a receiver who can be an efficient blocker, which is how Holley earned significant playing time last season. This year, Bowman's added weight has made him a valuable member of Carolina's best group of blocking wide receivers in many years.
"I can hold my blocks so much better now," he says. "The weight hasn't tightened me up. I step on the scale, and I'm surprised, because I don't feel like I weigh what I weigh."
He's improved his physical presence, but his mental game is still a work in progress. He's begun to watch more film in an effort to gain a better understanding of how defenses operate. In just his fourth year of organized football, Bowman knows it's no longer possible to coast on his athleticism.
The dividends? He's become a reliable third-down target--something the Tar Heels lacked last season--catching three passes for first downs in the season opener alone.
"His mental approach to the game from high school to college has changed dramatically," Bunting says. "He's been exposed to so much more. There's only so much any high school player can be exposed to, so when they get thrown in there like he did, it can be difficult. It can be overwhelming at times, and that's what he went through last year."
Bowman still has an occasional lapse. He admits that a dropped potential touchdown pass against Louisville affected his concentration for the rest of that game. But in the past, such a gaffe might have ruined him for several games. It's progress, one hoop...er, reception at a time.
"Now I know, `OK, there are more coming at me,'" he says. "When the next one comes, I can't be thinking about the one I dropped. That guarantees you'll drop the next one.
"It's maturity. I've got myself together now. I'm at the point that I can control the way I play. I can step my game up. I know how to go out and make plays."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
