Lincoln Riley: Micah Bowens Still a QB at Oklahoma, But Now He's Catching Up

The Oklahoma coach said Thursday that like a lot of freshman during the COVID shutdown, the transfer from Penn State wasn't like a typical second-year player

When No. 2-ranked Oklahoma revealed its Week 1 depth chart for Saturday’s game against Tulane, coach Lincoln Riley had already made the statement last week that true freshman walk-on Ralph Rucker would be the Sooners’ No. 3 quarterback.

Behind returning starter Spencer Rattler and true freshman 5-star recruit Caleb Williams, the duties were widely expected to go to Micah Bowens.

Micah Bowens / OU Athletics

But Bowens, a redshirt freshman who transferred from Penn State and looked dynamic in the Sooners’ Red/White Game on April 24, wasn’t in the top three.

“He’s done well,” Riley said on a video call Thursday. “He’s been a team-first guy. I think he really improved a lot this fall camp.”

Like a lot of college freshmen in 2020, Bowens’ learning curve was significant. Add in the fact that he transferred halfway across the country for his second year of college football and he’s probably behind more than just the 8-ball.

“All the guys we had, their first year was that COVID year, they’re — in a lot of ways — not quite as far along,” Riley said. “For very understandable reasons. But they’re not quite as far along as typical second-year guys right now. It’s almost like they’re not really second-year guys. It’s like they’re one-and-a-half. They kind of went through it, but they really kind of didn’t.

Micah Bowens / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

“And in a way, a lot of what they’ve gone through right now, like fall camp and the beginning of the season, is totally different than what they went through last year. So we’ve seen that with a lot of guys.

“Micah is one of those that I think was still adjusting, coming off a COVID year, now he’s in a new place, new offense. There’s just — he had a lot of things swirling, I think, a lot of things going on, a lot of things new this spring. I thought he had a lot of good moments, did some really good things, was productive in the spring game.”

Bowens went 4-of-5 passing for 26 yards in the spring game, and added three rushes for 25 yards. He showed accuracy and escapability and not a small amount of creativity — three characteristics all of Riley's quarterbacks have had.

Bowens was a flashy dual-threat QB at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, beating teams with his live arm as well as his electric feet. In the Sooners’ spring game, he displayed a burst and escapability that reminded some of the way Kyler Murray used to scoot around Owen Field.

Micah Bowens / OU Athletics

With Rattler entrenched this year and Williams apparently the man after Rattler leaves (presumably next year), Bowens or anyone else would figure to have a tough time climbing into the cockpit of Riley’s offense.

Could he help at another position? Would he want to?

“He’s a talented kid,” Riley said. “He is a guy that we would potentially look at, with his athleticism, to see where he could help the team. And he’s been a team-first guy. But there’s still certainly a plan for quarterback here in his future, and with his talent, I’m excited to see how he continues to grow. Because I don’t think we’ve seen near the best of him yet.”

Riley said Bowens took it well last week when the news came out about Rucker and when this week’s depth chart was revealed. After all, college football is a 14-week marathon, and there’s still plenty of time for Bowens to find the field in 2021 and beyond.

“You know, Ralph was just a little more polished this fall,” Riley said. “But Micah handled it well, and I think he’s looking at the long term.”