Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547542
2 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The team's up-and-down performance has complicated Sowell's final season, but it hasn't erased the opportunity that brought him to State College. Another Chance Sowell's appreciation for that opportu- nity dates to a time when he wasn't sure he would get another one. In May 2023, he was sitting in his dorm, contemplating the possibility that his football career was over. He had spent one season at Colorado, appearing in three games before an injury ended his year. When Deion Sanders was subsequently hired to be the Buffaloes' head coach, a mass exodus followed, with more than 50 players leaving Boulder amid the overhaul. Sowell was part of the Buffalo stampede. A former Rivals three-star prospect from Atascocita High in Humble, Texas, Sowell had compiled a gaudy résumé, in- cluding 70 catches for 1,380 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. But in his first college season, he caught 2 passes for 23 yards, leaving little for the new coaching staff to evaluate. "Got to find another place," Sowell told himself. After entering the portal, he got a call from East Carolina. The Pirates were willing to give him a chance, and Sowell made the most of it, leading the team with 47 catches for 622 yards in 2023, then total- ing 678 yards and 3 touch- downs the following season. His 19.9-yard average in 2024 suggested that a player who thought he was running out of opportunities could do quite a lot with the ones he received. A big drawback, though, was that the moves kept him far from home. Sowell had never played within a 14-hour drive Sowell came to Penn State hoping to build a professional football career that would allow him to provide for his family. The Nittany Lions are his fourth col- lege team. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS