• Generic profile. Massively hyped recruit has grown into his potential as a junior, rocketing to the top of NFL Draft boards as a prototypical pass rusher with the size (6-foot-4, 280 pounds) to hold up against the run.
• By the numbers. Bowers leads the nation with a school-record 13 sacks ranks second in tackles for loss, with 10 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, an interception and at least two TFLs in eight different games. Somehow, he also leads the ACC's best scoring defense in solo and total tackles – despite playing defensive end, and despite being routinely avoided by opposing running games.
• Intangibles ho! No one has ever doubted the monster talent that made Bowers one of the top three or four prospects in the country according to everyone with eyeballs in 2008, but his first two years were marked by inconsistency and left him vulnerable to the dreaded "bust" label coming into year three. Over the offseason, he lost his father and one of his pass-rushing mentors, former Tiger Gaines Adams, who died of an apparent heart attack in January. By all accounts, Bowers returned a more mature player, and he's had an impact in almost every game.
That includes the near-upset at Auburn in September, Auburn's second-worst offensive effort of the year in terms of both yards and points (24 points, 411 yards in regulation). Bowers had a season-high nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack against Cam Newton in Tigers' hardest-fought win of the year.
• Three strikes. Obviously, Bowers a) Plays a non-Heisman position on b) A non-Heisman team that c) With the possible exception of Auburn, hasn't played any high-profile games to put him in front of a national audience.
Only four defensive linemen (Ross Browner, Hugh Green, Steve Entman and Ndamukong Suh) have finished in the top five in Heisman voting in the last 35 years, and no player from Clemson has ever finished higher than sixth. Nothing says "lovely parting gifts" like playing defensive end for a 5-5 obscurity with a loss to Boston College.
• Might enter the real discussion if... He closes the regular season with the most dominant pass-rushing run in the history of pass rushing. Last Saturday's last-second loss at Florida State eliminated Clemson from ACC championship contention, leaving only relatively obscure games against Wake Forest and South Carolina to end the year. If Bowers comes out of those games with an additional 12-15 sacks, multiple forced fumbles, a couple blocked kicks and a touchdown or two, the nation would probably be forced to notice. More run-of-the-mill domination should still be good for a few All-America teams.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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