Bowers Signs Letter of Intent
by Jonathan Weaver
A Kittanning Wildcat football star is officially on his way to play football at Penn State University in the fall.
Yesterday morning, Kittanning Senior High tight end Nick Bowers signed his National Letter of Intent to play at Penn State in front of his family, coaches and current teammates.
Bowers – who initially had a commitment to the University of Pittsburgh – explained his decision to attend Penn State.
“After (Pitt’s) coaching staff left, I opened my recruitment back up to keep my options open, and I made a relationship with (Head) Coach (James) Franklin and his staff,” Bowers said. “One major thing is they had what I wanted to do after college – forestry. When I was growing up, my Pap got me into hunting and fishing, so basically, all I do is hunt and fish when I have free time.”
Bowers visited State College last weekend and has been to Beaver Stadium before when the Nittany Lions played the Ohio State Buckeyes. He wasn’t able to convince any of his current teammates to come with him.
“It’s everything I expected and more - the campus is phenomenal, they have great facilities and the football field is awesome,” Bowers said. “I was always a fan of both Pitt and Penn State growing up.”
Bowers is the first Division 1 football athlete from Kittanning Senior High during Principal James Rummel’s tenure, and also the first for Head Coach Frank Fabian. Last year, state champion wrestler Jason Nolf committed to Penn State.
“He’s a wonderful young man and great athlete,” Principal Rummel said. “We’re all very proud of him.”
Coach Fabian said it was a pleasure to coach Bowers, and considered his talent rare.
“When Nick came to us as a sophomore, he was very raw – 6`4, kind-of gangly – but Coach Hooks spent a lot of time with him and he turned out to be a really good (athlete),” Coach Fabian said. “There’s a lot of natural, God-given talent that Nick maximizes when he’s out there.”
Nick’s sister, Ali, plays Kittanning Senior High team volleyball and softball and said her brother was very humble about the opportunity – an attribute she admires and tries to emulate. She said she has also been a long-time Nittany Lions fan.