UK wideout committed in paradise

Even before he made his visit to Kentucky, Ohio receiver Preston Bowman felt confident he was going to commit to the Wildcats.

“This visit was top notch. Me and my family felt at home. Even my little cousins liked it,” said Bowman. “They made me feel like a priority and that they really wanted me. I was thinking this was the place for me. I loved it every time I visited. It never got old.”

However, he didn’t commit on his visit. Instead, he waited and did it while on a vacation with 20 family members in Puerto Rico.

“Since we were all together, I wanted to celebrate with all of them. My sister was not on my visit but was in Puerto Rico and I wanted her to be there when I committed,” the 6-0, 200-pound Bowman said. “It was great getting to all celebrate together and made for a very memorable experience.”

The 6-0, 195-pound Pickerington (Ohio) North High School receiver had been on Kentucky’s radar for almost two years. He already had an offer from national champion Michigan when he committed and got one from Ohio State less than 24 hours after picking UK.

“I committed and then Ohio State offered while I was in Puerto Rico,” Bowman said. “(Ohio State) Coach (Ryan) Day texted me at 6 the next morning and said he would call at 9. I woke up and he called and offered. I am not sure why he did that. I had been to Ohio State seven or eight times and had shown them a lot. At camp, they were impressed. Then I went to Michigan and then Kentucky and really balled out.”

Ohio State has produced four first-round receivers in the last three NFL drafts in Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Bowman stressed he was “locked in 100 percent” for Kentucky and the Cats definitely felt the same way after this summer camp performance.

“They really liked the way I carried myself. I would go 100 percent each rep. That’s the way I was taught to go hard all the time,” Bowman said.

He ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at Ohio State’s camp on June 5 and earned camp MVP honors at Michigan on June 10. He was at UK’s camp on June 12.

He said UK receivers coach Daikiel Shorts told him there was a “big difference” between his junior season film and what he did at UK’s camp.

“My ball skills were better. My routes were on point,” the Ohio receiver said. “My goal was to give them no choice but to be impressed at camp and they were.”

The three-star receiver had 5 a.m. offseason workouts with his team three days per week but also worked out on his own two more days a week catching balls at 5 a.m.

“I tried to make myself better every day. I don’t take days off. I am always going to be doing something to get better,” Bowman, who even caught passes from his cousin while on vacation in Puerto Rico, said.

Bowman likes to think he does “everything to the best of my ability” and won’t limit himself to one thing he does best. He had 43 catches for 713 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023.

“I am a good route runner. I can take screens to the house,” Bowman said. “I can block. Most people do not look at blocking as something they feel is crucial for a receiver when you get your block it helps the team and you will get the ball more. I do stuff to help the team. To me, blocking is fun. Pancaking somebody is a lot of fun.

“Some take it lightly but blocking makes me go harder and I love to mess up a defender every play.”

Bowman has several future Division I players as high school teammates and understands why there will be games where he does not catch a lot of balls.

“I am perfectly fine with that,” he said.

Brown ran track as a freshman and sophomore but didn’t run this spring to spend more time training to become faster and a better receiver.

“My goal is to never let anyone catch me and I believe with my size I can still do that,” he said.

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