Former 5-star running back will be eligible in 2021 after transferring to UF

Florida didn’t land running back Demarkcus Bowman out of high school but snagged him out of the NCAA transfer portal early last season.

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Coach Dan Mullen confirmed to reporters at SEC Media Days Monday that former Clemson running back Demarkcus Bowman will be eligible for the Gators this season. Florida snagged the former Lakeland, Florida standout after he entered the NCAA transfer portal early last season.

The NCAA recently passed a one-time free transfer to student-athletes on April 28, but Bowman had to apply for a waiver since he entered the portal before it was passed.

Coach Mullen and running backs coach Greg Knox secured a significant victory when they grabbed Bowman from the portal even with a lack of production with the Tigers. Because they added another five-star running back to their offense. 247Sports rated Bowman as the 20th overall player in the class of 2020.

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He told Swamp247 that he chose Florida because UF has always been close to home and that he was always a Gators fan.

“They have always been a major factor growing up,” Bowman said about Florida, according to Swamp247. “We had a pipeline from Lakeland High School long before I was there. I just felt it was closer to home and have former high school teammates I played with and it’s always been a dream school.”

Because of Bowman’s talent, he should find a way to carve out snaps for himself this season despite a loaded backfield with Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis, Nay’Quan Wright and Lorenzo Lingard.

Defensive end Zachary Carter already noticed the impact he had on the team during spring practices.

“He’s a guy that came in during the spring and he’s done some really good things for us,” Carter said. “I’m excited to see how he can help our offense. He’s definitely a versatile weapon and a pretty good kid.”

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