Jase Bowen Talks Michigan State Football/Baseball Commitment

Not long ago, Jase Bowen’s future was all but set to continue on the baseball diamond at Notre Dame after he finishes high school in just about a year, but an offer from #5 Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio and baseball coach Jake Boss to play both sports at the college level proved to be a game-changer for the two-sport star.

Soon after landing his offer to play both sports at Michigan, Bowen decommitted from Notre Dame to reconsider his options but told Spartan Nation that he didn’t plan on making a new commitment until this summer.

But the Spartans got a pleasant surprise on Saturday afternoon as Bowen visited Michigan State for its annual Spring Game and told both Dantonio and Boss that he would be committing to the Spartans.

Spartan Nation recently spoke with Bowen to discuss his decision and the 6-foot-1, 178-pound receiver said that he simply couldn’t envision any other offer topping Michigan State in his eyes.

“Michigan State was number one for me, it was clear,” he said. “Just doing a lot of thinking with my family and there was no offer that would have topped Michigan State. It’s a family environment there and I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and I wanted to do it (commit) in person instead of over the phone. It was just a good time for me and it was really a good fit.”

Including his offer from Michigan State, Bowen received 15 other offers to play football, including offers from Iowa State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Minnesota, Virginia, Northwestern, Yale, Harvard and Army.

Bowen said that he first informed Dantonio of his decision and spoke to Boss following the Spartans’ 17-5 win over Nebraska on the diamond and said that Boss was obviously excited to learn of his commitment.

“I actually talked to Coach Dantonio first and Coach D actually handed me his phone and let me text him (Boss) during his baseball game against Nebraska,” he said. “Right when their game got over, he called me, we talked and he was super excited. It’s been almost three years since he started recruiting me. He told me he can’t wait for me to be on campus and to play in a Spartan uniform.”

Upon telling Dantonio the news, Bowen said that he was also excited and was happy to have Bowen as his first commit out of the state of Ohio for the 2019 class.

“He was super excited,” he said. “He said that he loves the Ohio guys and that I was the first Ohio guy to commit this year. He’s pumped and he can’t wait to get to know me and my family together and get on the field and start to grind.”

Although he’s been committed to Michigan State for only a matter of days, Bowen said that he’s already recruiting for the Spartans and has been in touch with Detroit (MI) Cass Tech 2019 running back Jaren Mangham, Zeeland (MI) East 2019 defensive end Adam Berghorst and Youngstown (OH) Cardinal Mooney 2019 linebacker Luke Fulton about joining him in East Lansing.

Bowen admitted that the fact that he’s going to be able to live out his dream of playing both baseball and football at the college level hasn’t sunk in with him yet, but is undoubtedly excited that he has the opportunity to do so with the Spartans.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” he said. “It’s such a terrific situation where it’s going to happen. It’s definitely a dream come true and it’s like I’m still dreaming, honestly.”

Stay tuned to Spartan Nation for all of the latest news on Bowen and the Spartans!

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