Da'Quan Bowers to turn professional

Bowers had a streak of nine straight games in which he was involved in a sack.

by CU Athletic Communications - Wed Jan 05 16:46:32 GMT-04:00 2011

Clemson, SC—Clemson unanimous All-America defensive end Da’Quan Bowers will enter the 2011 NFL draft. Bowers announced the decision on Wednesday. A freshman in 2008, the native of Bamberg, SC had one year of eligibility remaining with the Tigers in 2011.

“I want to thank everyone at Clemson for all they have done for me the last three years. I want to especially thank Coach (Dabo) Swinney and his staff for helping me develop on the field, and mature as a person.

“You hear people talk about the Clemson family, and when my father passed this past summer, I saw that first hand. There is a great support system at Clemson. The coaches and players were all there for me and I will never forget that.

“I also want to thank my teammates for all the support the last three years. I would not have received these honors this year without them. I made lifelong friends at Clemson.

“I feel I am ready to go to the next level and I look forward to working hard in preparation for the draft.”

Bowers had a breakout 2010 season when he led the nation in sacks with 15.5 and ranked second in tackles for loss with 26. The sack total is the second most in Clemson history and the tackle for loss total is one off the school record for a defensive lineman. He broke Gaines Adams record for sacks in a season by a Clemson defensive lineman.

Bowers had 74 tackles overall, second best on the team, and led the team in quarterback pressures with 20. He had a streak of nine straight games in which he was involved in a sack, also a Clemson record.

Bowers was the most decorated player in Clemson history this year. He won the Nagurski Award as the top defensive player in college football as selected by the Football Writers Association, and the Ted Hendricks Award as the top defensive end in college football. He was also a finalist for the Lombardi Award and the Bednarik Award. He is the first player in Clemson history to win either of those national awards and was just the second Clemson player to be a finalist for the Lombardi Award.

Bowers was also a unanimous All-American and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He is just the fourth unanimous first-team All-American in Clemson history.

“Da’Quan and I talked about this decision at length,” said Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney. “We obviously would love to have him return for his senior year, but we certainly understand the decision. Most see him as a top five selection in the NFL draft.

“He has grown as a person this past year and he showed everyone his capabilities on the field. We challenged him to become a dominant defensive player and he was just that.”