Football Prospects Todd and Troy Bowles Turning Heads at Home, NFL Coach Todd Bowles Sr. Says
The offseason has featured plenty of buzz for the future of football in the Tampa Bay area considering a particular addition or two to the Bucs' NFL roster.
But just one mile from Raymond James Stadium lies Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit High School. There is an intersection of present and future at the storied Tiger football program, which has won four of their last five region titles. It is also coming off of a state semi-final appearance in 2019.
For parts of the last season, two familiar names roamed the edges of the Jesuit defense. Todd Bowles, Jr. and Troy Bowles, the eldest sons of Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, each made their presence known and the future looks bright.
Todd, a rising senior in the class of 2021, shines with savvy and versatility. Troy, a rising sophomore in the class of 2023, does it with raw athleticism. Both have plenty of room to grow and that hasn't been tough to stunt in the Bowles household during the COVID-19 shutdown.
"They're still growing, that's the scary part," Bowles, Sr. told SI All-American. "They're 196 and 194 (pounds), with [Troy] being the heaviest. He's growing, he's playing basketball, he's dunking with both hands with ease, he's an athlete. They both are athletic, but I don't know how it happened so early. Dude, when I was a freshman I was 155 pounds."
Bowles, Sr. starred at Temple before nearly a decade of defensive back work in the NFL leading into his coaching career. The former head coach of the New York Jets, among other stops, has relished the extra time at home balancing the future of the Bucs defense along with the individual game of the Jesuit duo.
"I don't look at either of them from a coaching standpoint, but from a father's standpoint," he said. "A dad's standpoint. Just can't believe how smart they are at the age they are. When I was this age there was no way I can do some of the things they're thinking, mentally.
"You've still got to teach them the basics, they're in high school. Teach them how to hone in their position, they have a good work ethic."
Each stands about 6-foot-1 at this point and it's safe to say college football programs are taking notice. Todd Jr. could be on the brink of several scholarship offers while Troy picked up his first two FBS extensions this week with Florida Atlantic and Louisiana Tech sharing the good news.
"The older one is more versatile, I think he plays like a coach," Bowles said. "He's extremely bright and he can play a variety of positions. He's a quarterback on the field. His work ethic is unbelievable and he's a team player, he'll do anything possible. You can stick him anywhere and he'll play. I think his ultimate position will be safety because he's a quarterback, but he's played outside 'backer, inside 'backer, receiver, DB, he does a lot of things."
[Todd Bowles Jr. | Hudl | Twitter]
In speaking on the younger Tiger, Bowles paused for a second as if he was shaking his head.
"Troy is just a hell of an athlete," he said. "Troy is just that kid that's got every athletic gene that you could have. Everything comes kind of easy to him. He started varsity last year as a freshman and didn't turn 15 until March 29. He was 14 all last year when they went to the state semis and lost to Miami Northwestern. He's just one of them guys, you can tell by his legs, that he's going to be bigger. It was his first year playing outside 'backer, he was a running back all throughout Pop Warner and everything else.
"He's athletic. He can move like a DB. He can cover people, he can pressure people. He can do almost everything and I don't think he's even scratched the surface yet."
The current climate has made the recruiting process a bit tougher on Todd Jr. given the lack of in-person recruiting exposure the rest of the rising senior class is going through at this time.
"It's kind of a strange time for everybody with the pandemic, especially with what Todd is going through," he said. "He's sending videos out and has been getting a lot of feedback from coaches. It's all starting to come, but it's a dead period right now, so we'll see what happens after June 1. There should be some pending offers coming. That's kind of all you can do right now.
"They'll have their heads down, keep working and see what comes up."
On the other side of the coin, in addition to the improvement each has shown physically, the two have of course benefited from a crash course of football.
"The best thing this quarantine has done is allowed me to spend time with them every day and just do football after they get out of school and class," Bowles said. "We can just work on football things. I try to teach them every position. Blocking, tackling, pass-rush, DB play, receiver play. It really allows me to spend a lot of time with them together so they understand the game.
"I think a lot of guys are very physical at the high school level but the fact that we can help their game when they're not with their coaches, it really helps out a lot and gives me that time with them."
When it does come time to look at the next level, the decision will have input from the entire household.
"My wife, she was an engineering major at Texas A&M, so she looks at most of the academics part and I look at most of the football part," Bowles said. "I just want them to go somewhere they fit in and belong, that's a good college experience. They just need to find the right experience, play, like where they're going to school, get a degree and play football in the process.
"I'm not looking for them to be the next NFL stars or anything like that. They know how to play on their own, they're earning that right themselves and I'm very happy about that."
One potential on-field benefit of the national shutdown is the quality of football evaluation across the board. All levels of football are challenged by a lack of offseason activity and it creates more reliance on game tape.
"It's kind of like old-school, you've got to do it the old-fashioned way," Bowles said. "You've got to watch a lot of tape and find players that way. Whether it's professionally or college, you've got to find it that way. Kind of project and do some of those things, so it's more interesting that way. I like the challenge.
"College coaches are doing the same thing. Trying to watch as much film as they can and trying to project guys. Doing more home work so when this thing is over, I can get on my horse and run."
For those looking beyond 2020, there is a third son in the Bowles household worth making an early note of.
"I also have a nine-year-old that runs track as well," Bowles said. "Tyson. It's all T's, Todd, Troy, Tyson."
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