Stampeding Through the 2025 USF Football Roster: #74 OL Deonte Bowie
Our journey through the roster continues with another former JUCO offensive lineman.
PLAYER: Deonte Bowie
POSITION: Offensive lineman (guard)
YEAR: Redshirt senior
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'4", 312 lbs.
HOW DID HE GET HERE? Bowie went to high school at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas, just north of Austin. He received some small school interest out of high school, but opted to stay relatively local and spent a couple years at Blinn College, where he received interest from a smattering of Group of Five (Four??) schools and earned a low-to-mid three star rating out of JUCO. USF swooped in relatively late, a few days before early signing day in December, but Bowie committed almost immediately and enrolled in the summer.
HOW WAS HIS 2024 SEASON? Pretty promising. Bowie made some waves in fall practice in 2023, but an injury ended up sidelining him for the season. With the benefit of a full offseason with the team, he made his way onto the two-deep in 2024 and was listed as the backup at left guard for most of the season. Jack Wilty was usually the first man up when a spot on the line needed to be filled due to injury, but Bowie was presumably the Bulls’ second option off the bench, at least at guard. He mostly played on special teams during the regular season, but did see some mop-up duty against Bethune-Cookman and Charlotte. However, he got a moment to shine in the Hawaii Bowl. With Andrew Kilfoyl in the transfer portal and Zane Herring nursing an injury, Bowie ended the year on a high note and got the first start of his FBS career at left guard.
Bowie ended up playing in 12 games and making the one start in 2024. Per PFF, he logged the eighth-most snaps of any USF offensive lineman.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2025? Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the 2025 USF offensive line is a tough unit to break into. Five of the seven players who out-snapped Bowie return for the Bulls in 2025, and a couple very experienced transfers have been added to the mix. Bowie will likely be competing with the likes of Wilty and App State transfer Thomas Shrader for a starting spot at guard, but if I were a betting man, I’d say the more experienced Wilty and Shrader have an early leg up.
Nonetheless, Bowie will be - at the very least - a critical depth piece on the Bulls’ offensive line this season, and could play his way into an even larger role. It’s hard to keep five linemen perfectly healthy all season, and it seems likely that Bowie will hear his number called in one way or another in 2025. That’s not to mention that with the pending JUCO ruling, he very well may have eligibility left beyond this season (if the Chaotic Eligibility Goblin obliges), so he could have an inside track to being a key member of the first-team offensive line in 2026 once the seniors depart.