Former Clemson RB Demarkcus Bowman Will Transfer to Florida Gators

The Gators redeem themselves for their biggest miss of the 2020 recruiting cycle, as running back Demarkcus Bowman has announced his plans to transfer to Florida.

What a turn of events.

Demarkcus Bowman, a former consensus five-star running back from Lakeland, Fla., will transfer to the Florida Gators, as reported first by GatorsTerritory. Bowman announced that he would enter the transfer portal on October 1st, only a few weeks into his freshman season with the Clemson Tigers.

Bowman was widely believed to be Florida's No. 1 running back target in the 2020 cycle, despite his early commitment to Clemson which came on May 3rd, 2019. Although he committed to the Tigers, the Gators kept in touch with the star prospect and were considered a potential flip candidate at times, given Florida's ties to the Dreadnaught program. 

Fast forward nearly a year, after he signed, and Bowman announced that he would transfer back to his home state to and play for Florida, about two hours north of Lakeland. Bowman's recruitment was going to be another one-that-got-away story for the books, that is until head coach Dan Mullen and the staff made it evident that Bowman would be welcome to Florida after spurning the Gators the first time.

Several former Lakeland teammates jumped on the news, including tight end Keon Zipperer and linebacker Lloyd Summerall III. Freshmen defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, from nearby Lake Wales, and linebacker Derek Wingo also tweeted at and about Bowman prior to his commitment, as both star prospects tried to recruit Bowman to Florida during the 2020 cycle. 

Through the three games Clemson has played thus far, Bowman only had nine carries, six coming against Wake Forest and the other three against The Citadel. Bowman finished his short Clemson career with 32 rushing yards. 

After speaking with David Hood of TigerNet.com, Bowman cited his reason to transfer from Clemson was that he wanted to be closer to home after both of his grandfathers had passed away. His first grandfather to pass was a motivating factor in Bowman pledging to Clemson as he lived in Atlanta, less than three hours away. 

On the field, Bowman is electric and will certainly shake up the depth chart upon his arrival if he is cleared to play quickly. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound back has immaculate balance and vision, traits that are needed to be the best at the college level. Bowman is shifty and has 4.47-second 40-yard-dash speed, hitting a second gear in his runs that only a few can catch up with. 

The Lakeland standout won a championship in one of the best divisions in high school football, beating St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in 2018 after Bowman had 211 yards to help Lakeland secure its seventh state championship. 

All in all, Florida's running back room just improved tenfold with Bowman's addition, whether he can step on the field this season or next.