Can Jaylen Bowden be Minnesota's next great transfer portal cornerback?

NC Central cornerback Jaylen Bowden is one of the Gophers' most important transfer portal additions, as they look to replace both their top two cornerbacks from their 2024 roster.

Minnesota's No. 2 cornerback in each of the last two seasons has been a one-year rental from the transfer portal. In 2023, Tre'Von Jones came from Elon and played 719 snaps, earning a 66.0 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade. In 2024, Ethan Robinson came from Bucknell and played 783 snaps, earning a 72.3 overall grade from PFF.

Justin Walley and Robinson are both out of eligibility and they will now prepare for the NFL Draft. That means Bowden and returning redshirt freshman Za'Quan Bryan are the frontrunners to be the Gophers' top two options at outside cornerback in 2025.

Bowden is notably undersized, listed at 6-foot-2 and only 155 pounds. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, he was incredibly under-recruited coming out of high school in 2023. He was unranked on most recruiting service websites, but he opted to attend NC Central, which is only two hours away from where he grew up.

He saw the field 34 times as a true freshman but broke out last season for the Eagles. He played 550 snaps, earning an overall 80.8 PFF Grade. He had an impressive 83.9 coverage grade, but he recorded only 21 tackles on the season earning a 51.1 tackling grade. After entering the transfer portal in November, he chose Minnesota over heavy interest from Wake Forest.

Comparing Bowden to Jones and Robinson as transfer portal prospects — he is probably the least accomplished. Jones had four seasons with more than 300 snaps at Elon and Robinson was recruited heavily after three seasons with more than 400 snaps at Bucknell. Bowden has only one season of production.

His situation is different because he will have two seasons of eligibility remaining compared to Jones and Robinson who were just at Minnesota for one season. Bowden might have the most long-term potential out of the crew, but it's fair to think his development could be more of a maturation process as he transitions from
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) competition to the Big Ten.

Bryan had his best performance of the season in the Gophers' bowl game against Virginia Tech and he looks like he could assume the CB1 role, but Minnesota will likely need Bowden to contribute day one if it wants to reach its full potential on the defensive side of the ball.

On3 views Bowden as the 43rd-best cornerback from this winter's transfer portal cycle, while 247Sports has him at No. 52. Bowden has the potential to become the third Gophers cornerback to make the jump from FCS to the Big Ten starter.

Related: What are expectations for Gophers transfer RB Cameron Davis?