| Ross Bowers | |
| Currentposition: | Quarterback |
| Birth Date: | 19 November 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Bothell, Washington |
| Heightft: | 6 |
| Heightin: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 200 |
| Highschool: | Bothell (Bothell, Washington) |
| Pastschools: |
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Ross Buchanan Bowers (born November 19, 1996) is a former American football quarterback.
Bowers attended Bothell High School in Bothell, Washington. His father, John, was an assistant coach for James Madison football between 2013 and 2016. His mother, Joanne, spent ten seasons as the head women's gymnastics coach for the Washington Huskies between 2006 and 2016.
In 2014, as a senior, he led Bothell High School to a 24–14 win in the 4A State Championship. He scored a touchdown on a flip during this game.[1]
In 2014, Bowers committed to the University of California, Berkeley.[2] He redshirted his first year at California in 2015 and spent 2016 as a backup to Davis Webb.
In 2017, Bowers took over as Cal's starting quarterback.[3] [4] In his first career start, he completed 24 of 38 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns against UNC.[5]
On October 13, 2017, Bowers led the Golden Bears to a 37–3 win against #8 Washington State. He executed a flip, similar to the one in 2014, to put the Bears up 27–3 in the fourth quarter.[6] This was Cal's first win against a top-ten team since 2003.[7]
The Bears finished the 2017 season with a 5–7 record. Bowers finished the season with 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and over 3,000 yards passing.[8] He is the seventh player in Cal history to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season.
Bowers injured his thumb in spring training camp prior to the start of the 2018 season.[9] He started in a season-opening win against North Carolina but did not play in the second half or in subsequent games. Bowers announced his intention to leave the Bears' program on December 19, 2018.
On March 29, 2019, Bowers's father announced via Twitter his son's transfer to Northern Illinois University.[10]
| Season | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg/P | Avg/G | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2017 – Cal | 272 | 461 | 59.0 | 3,039 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 18 | 12 | 60 | −142 | −2.4 | 3 | |
| 2018 – Cal | 8 | 17 | 47.1 | 56 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | −7 | −2.3 | 0 | |
| 2019 – Northern Illinois | 166 | 287 | 57.8 | 2130 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7 | 8 | 34 | −111 | −3.3 | 1 | |
| 2020 – Northern Illinois | 123 | 212 | 58.0 | 1365 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 10 | 2 | 20 | −59 | −3.0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 569 | 977 | 58.2 | 6590 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 35 | 22 | 118 | −317 | −2.7 | 4 | |