MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — By the time Jarod Bowie took the field for Jacksonville State last December in a Cure Bowl matchup, Rich Rodriguez had left the Gamecocks for his second stint as head coach at West Virginia.
Not long after Bowie hauled in four passes for 105 yards in that game, he announced his intention to follow Rodriguez to Morgantown, allowing the Martinsburg native to wrap up his college career with the Mountaineers.
“I heard some good things and I was like, this is my shot to go home, to play at home and it was a dream come true. Right after the bowl game, I chose to jump into the portal and knew I was coming home,” Bowie said. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The unique path Bowie has taken throughout college ultimately led him to the highest level yet and a third and final season playing for Rodriguez. Following a standout career at Martinsburg High School in which Bowie was part of four Class AAA state championship teams from 2016-19 and garnered MetroNews Player of the Year honors as a senior, the wideout moved on to Concord. There, Bowie reunited with Dave Walker, longtime head coach of the Bulldogs who moved to the college ranks in December 2019 when he accepted the Mountain Lions’ head coaching position.
Bowie took off in a big way in 2022 when he led Division II in both receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,773). For his efforts, which included 18 receiving touchdowns and five straight games with multiple scores, Bowie was named Mountain East Conference Offensive Player of the Year as well as a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy (The Division II Most Valuable Player).
With an opportunity to move to the Division I level, Bowie opted to join the Jacksonville State program ahead of the 2023 season. He saw limited action his first season with the Gamecocks and more of it in 2024, when the 5-foot-9, 162-pounder finished with 13 receptions for 207 yards, more than half of which came in his JSU finale.
Bowie’s production didn’t come close to matching his accomplishments at Concord, but the speedster felt his maturity and football IQ took a major step forward over two years with the Gamecocks.
“It was quite different, because I was with coach Walker for a long time. In high school, we didn’t do very many hand signals, so when I got to Jacksonville State, hand signals were something I was just getting used to,” Bowie said. “That was my first time really doing hand signals and I couldn’t really get it down at first. It was very fast. Then I got it picked up and that’s probably the best thing I ever learned in football.”
Learning and understanding the signals is a necessity in the fast-paced, no-huddle attack utilized by Rodriguez.
As one of several receivers in the mix for playing time in the slot, Bowie hopes familiarity with Rodriguez and the system aids in his transition to a Power 4 Conference program.
“I basically have a head start on the people that weren’t at Jax State,” Bowie said.
With that also comes an understanding of the expectations and how Rodriguez operates.
“He’s not going to change for anything,” Bowie said. “He’s going to do his job and he does it very well.”
Bowie, Cam Vaughn and Jordan McCants are three West Virginia wide receivers that transferred from Jacksonville State and are in their first season with the Mountaineers.
With less of a learning curve, Rodriguez has let it be known there are heightened expectations for that trio.
“All three of those guys, I’ve told the expectations from us are a little bit higher because they know the system, know how the operation works and they should take the next step in their development this year,” Rodriguez said.
As a West Virginia native, Bowie wants to do his part to ensure he makes the most of his opportunity with the Mountaineers.
“It’s so crazy to me. When I was 16 playing at Martinsburg, I used to come here every game to watch David Sills and the boys play,” Bowie said. “I used to walk down right after the game and sing Country Roads with them. It’s beyond a blessing to strap up with blue and gold and play for the state I’ve always lived in.”