Da'Quan Bowers (born February 23, 1990) is an American football coach and former professional gridiron football defensive end who is currently the defensive line coach at the University of South Florida. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clemson, where he earned unanimous All-American honors. He was also a member of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
High school career
Bowers attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in Bamberg, South Carolina, where he was a three-sport athlete in football and track. He played as a defensive end and running back for the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Red Raiders high school football team. As a senior in 2007, he led the team to an 11–2 record by recording 97 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 14 sacks on defense, while on offense, he rushed for 1,219 yards and scored 19 touchdowns, he caught two touchdown passes, averaged 40 yards per kickoff return, and blocked seven kicks.
Bowers also starred in track & field as a shot putter (top-throw of 46–0.75 or 14.35m) and sprinter (11.7s 100m).
Bowers was ranked the No. 1 overall prospect by ESPN.com in 2008, the first Clemson recruit in history to be ranked as the number-one player in the nation by any recruiting service. Rivals.com dubbed Bowers the top defensive end prospect of the high school classes 2005–2009, describing him as "the closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith". He chose Clemson over Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.
College career
Bowers graduated early from high school and enrolled at Clemson University in January 2008, where he was a member of the Clemson Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010. He went through 2008 spring drills and had a game-high seven tackles in the 2008 Spring Game. As a true freshman in 2008, Bowers started six of 13 games, finishing the season with 37 tackles including eight for loss. During his second year in 2009, Bowers recorded 46 tackles, 10.5 for loss and three sacks, despite an injury that forced him to miss three games.
As a junior in 2010, Bowers recorded 67 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. He led the nation in sacks and was tied for the most tackles for loss. Following the season, he was a first-team All-ACC selection, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. He was also honored as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Professional career
As early as April 2010, Bowers was seen as a candidate for the No. 1 overall spot in the 2011 NFL Draft. He remained at the top of most mock draft projections over the course of the season, especially after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who was widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect for the 2011 draft, returned to school. Along with Nick Fairley, Marcell Dareus, and Patrick Peterson, Bowers was still listed among the best prospects available as of January 2011.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bowers was selected in the second round (51st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bowers was selected lower than expected due to medical issues, including off-season knee surgery. Bowers played in all 16 regular season games, starting in six, contributing 25 tackles. The following off-season, during the Bucs off-season program, he tore his Achilles tendon on May 10, 2012. Bowers was activated from the PUP on October 25, 2012. He played his first game of the 2012 season that same night against the Minnesota Vikings. He would finish his second season in the league having played in 10 games, but only amassing 13 tackles.