Last Friday, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr told The Detroit News that star defensive end David Bowens will not return to the Michigan football team.
The newspaper also reported Sunday that Bowens will not return to the University in the fall.
Carr was unavailable for comment.
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| Bowens |
Last season, he totaled a team-record 12 sacks while starting every game except against Indiana. His fast start - 11 sacks in his first seven games - established Bowens as one of Michigan's premiere defensive players. In the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day, Bowens secured the record with a sack just before halftime.
Bowens, a 6-foot-3, 236-pound linebacker, made 68 tackles to place among the team leaders - as a sophomore.
The remarkable achievements of this breakthrough season were primarily due to a position change.
Former defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, now an assistant at Notre Dame, moved Bowens to defensive end from linebacker.
He did not participate in spring practice or the spring game for disciplinary reasons.
His junior season was loaded with potential - potential that will gone unfulfilled.
The next step for Bowens is unclear. He cannot apply for the NFL Fraft until next spring, so the most likely option will be for Bowens to enroll at another school and sit out a season under current transfer guidelines.
Bowens is presently weighing his options.
"Nothing has been confirmed," Bowens' mother said. "That's still a private matter at this point."
As for Bowens himself, he could not be reached for comment.
After tallying three sacks against Minnesota last fall, Bowens was optimistic about what the future held for him.
"I'm no veteran," he said at the time. "I'm still a young kid."
He has hardly aged in the past seven months. Unfortunately for Michigan, his youth will be exhibited somewhere other than Ann Arbor.
06-11-97
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