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Bowman back on track after injuries derailed career
Cornerback Zackary Bowman's once promising football career was at a crossroads in March 2007 when he suffered a serious knee injury for the second time in seven months at Nebraska.
"I realized I could either walk away and not play again or I could keep going," said Bowman, who was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. "My biggest thing was I didn't want to have any regrets and I didn't want an injury to hold me down or hold me back from accomplishing something that I wanted to accomplish."
Bowman ultimately overcame the adversity to play in 11 games with four starts as a senior in 2007, registering 29 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception. He posted a career-high eight tackles at Missouri and helped preserve Nebraska's 20-17 win over Wake Forest with an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
"The main thing that was motivating me was just the opportunity to play again," Bowman said. "I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to the University of Nebraska and play in front of 90,000 people who had my back through the good times and through the bad times."
Bowman had mostly good times early in his career. One of the nation's top junior college recruits after two stellar seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, he excelled in his first year at Nebraska in 2005, compiling 27 tackles, a team-high 14 pass breakups and two interceptions.
Shortly after the 2006 NFL Draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. listed Bowman among the top 25 prospects in the 2007 draft. But he tore his left ACL on the third day of fall practice and was lost for the season.
"I was pretty down because I felt like that I was at the peak of my college career," said the 6-1, 197-pounder. "I had only got faster, stronger and smarter, and I really tuned into the game. Once I got hurt, it just kind of dropped everything.
"The toughest thing was just watching my teammates play. I wanted to be out there with them celebrating and making plays, but I wasn't."
After rehabbing his torn ACL, Bowman ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee midway through spring practice.
"With the second knee injury, you start questioning yourself like, 'What did I do? Is it me?'" Bowman said. "But I realized that there was nothing I could do about it. When I hurt both my knees, I was going 100 percent, playing hard and they just happened."
Motivated to return to the field, Bowman finally reverted to form late last year.
"He really didn't come around until the end of this past season," Greg Gabriel, the Bears' director of college scouting, said in April when Bowman was drafted. "We're taking him really on the idea that he is 100 percent recovered now. He didn't play as well in 2007 as he did before that and that's because of the injury. The doctors feel he's in pretty good shape now.
"Bowman had a great combine. He is 100 percent recovered now. He just wasn't 100 percent during the season. He's ready to go."
A tall and lanky cornerback, Bowman ran a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash before he hurt his knees.
"I'm getting back to that point," he said. "But I feel great. I feel like I felt in 2005. My knees are healthy. It's just about getting them stronger and getting my body to work as one again."
Bears defensive backs coach Steve Wilks still sees some residual effects of the injuries.
"His body is healthy, but I think in his mind he's still a little tentative," Wilks said. "You can see in his movement at times, but I think it's just a process. Once he goes through OTAs and minicamps and really takes that first hit again, he'll be fine."
Bowman has an interesting background. With his father serving in the military, he lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Germany before attending high school in Alaska, where he played on the same prep basketball team as Kansas star Mario Chalmers.
Bowman then enrolled in junior college in Roswell, N.M., which is primarily known for an incident in 1947 that may or may not have involved the recovery of a UFO. The city has embraced the story, promoting a UFO museum and hosting an annual UFO festival.
Hoping to deliver an out-of-this-world performance as a rookie, Bowman is spending considerable time memorizing his playbook and learning his assignments.
"Those are the things I want to work on going into camp so when July hits I can go full speed and leave everything out on the field," he said.
Bowman was an accomplished special teams player at Nebraska and hopes to fill a similar role with the Bears.
"I love special teams because you can be a playmaker," he said. "Just look at Devin Hester. Every time he gets the ball, he's a show stopper. Everybody holds their breath.
"I want to come in and make a huge impact on special teams, whether it's to block for Devin Hester, to block a kick to get the offense the ball in good field position, or just anything to help the team out."
Cornerback Zackary Bowman's once promising football career was at a crossroads in March 2007 when he suffered a serious knee injury for the second time in seven months at Nebraska.
"I realized I could either walk away and not play again or I could keep going," said Bowman, who was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. "My biggest thing was I didn't want to have any regrets and I didn't want an injury to hold me down or hold me back from accomplishing something that I wanted to accomplish."
Bowman ultimately overcame the adversity to play in 11 games with four starts as a senior in 2007, registering 29 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception. He posted a career-high eight tackles at Missouri and helped preserve Nebraska's 20-17 win over Wake Forest with an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
"The main thing that was motivating me was just the opportunity to play again," Bowman said. "I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to the University of Nebraska and play in front of 90,000 people who had my back through the good times and through the bad times."
Bowman had mostly good times early in his career. One of the nation's top junior college recruits after two stellar seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, he excelled in his first year at Nebraska in 2005, compiling 27 tackles, a team-high 14 pass breakups and two interceptions.
Shortly after the 2006 NFL Draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. listed Bowman among the top 25 prospects in the 2007 draft. But he tore his left ACL on the third day of fall practice and was lost for the season.
"I was pretty down because I felt like that I was at the peak of my college career," said the 6-1, 197-pounder. "I had only got faster, stronger and smarter, and I really tuned into the game. Once I got hurt, it just kind of dropped everything.
"The toughest thing was just watching my teammates play. I wanted to be out there with them celebrating and making plays, but I wasn't."
After rehabbing his torn ACL, Bowman ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee midway through spring practice.
"With the second knee injury, you start questioning yourself like, 'What did I do? Is it me?'" Bowman said. "But I realized that there was nothing I could do about it. When I hurt both my knees, I was going 100 percent, playing hard and they just happened."
Motivated to return to the field, Bowman finally reverted to form late last year.
"He really didn't come around until the end of this past season," Greg Gabriel, the Bears' director of college scouting, said in April when Bowman was drafted. "We're taking him really on the idea that he is 100 percent recovered now. He didn't play as well in 2007 as he did before that and that's because of the injury. The doctors feel he's in pretty good shape now.
"Bowman had a great combine. He is 100 percent recovered now. He just wasn't 100 percent during the season. He's ready to go."
A tall and lanky cornerback, Bowman ran a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash before he hurt his knees.
"I'm getting back to that point," he said. "But I feel great. I feel like I felt in 2005. My knees are healthy. It's just about getting them stronger and getting my body to work as one again."
Bears defensive backs coach Steve Wilks still sees some residual effects of the injuries.
"His body is healthy, but I think in his mind he's still a little tentative," Wilks said. "You can see in his movement at times, but I think it's just a process. Once he goes through OTAs and minicamps and really takes that first hit again, he'll be fine."
Bowman has an interesting background. With his father serving in the military, he lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Germany before attending high school in Alaska, where he played on the same prep basketball team as Kansas star Mario Chalmers.
Bowman then enrolled in junior college in Roswell, N.M., which is primarily known for an incident in 1947 that may or may not have involved the recovery of a UFO. The city has embraced the story, promoting a UFO museum and hosting an annual UFO festival.
Hoping to deliver an out-of-this-world performance as a rookie, Bowman is spending considerable time memorizing his playbook and learning his assignments.
"Those are the things I want to work on going into camp so when July hits I can go full speed and leave everything out on the field," he said.
Bowman was an accomplished special teams player at Nebraska and hopes to fill a similar role with the Bears.
"I love special teams because you can be a playmaker," he said. "Just look at Devin Hester. Every time he gets the ball, he's a show stopper. Everybody holds their breath.
"I want to come in and make a huge impact on special teams, whether it's to block for Devin Hester, to block a kick to get the offense the ball in good field position, or just anything to help the team out."
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