{"id":271572,"date":"2025-08-08T12:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T12:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/271572\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T12:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T12:07:13","slug":"seth-mcgowan-can-complete-ultimate-comeback-story-at-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/271572\/","title":{"rendered":"Seth McGowan Can Complete Ultimate Comeback Story at Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s been a journey to get here.\u201d Seth McGowan<\/a> is putting that lightly. <\/p>\n

A once-promising blue chip recruit who starred as a true freshman for Oklahoma nearly spent decades in prison. The mistake that derailed his life put what matters into focus. Throughout the years of retribution, he prioritized the process. Now, he\u2019s ready to show results in the SEC. <\/p>\n

The Big Mistake <\/p>\n

McGowan was a four-star, top 200 recruit from Texas when he signed to play for Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. During his true freshman campaign, he totaled 571 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. More than 100 of those yards came in a Cotton Bowl win over Florida. His future looked bright at Oklahoma until one fateful night in Norman. <\/p>\n

In April of 2021, McGowan, wide receiver Trejan Bridges, and running back Mikey Henderson stole marijuana, jewelry, high-dollar shoes, cash, and other personal property from a Norman apartment. All three were arrested and all three were kicked off the team. McGowan was initially charged with robbery, conspiracy and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult. At some point, I was facing like 70 years,\u201d he recalled in a conversation with KSR<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges<\/a> and was sentenced to one year of probation in April 2024 after spending three months in jail. <\/p>\n

It took three years for McGowan to learn his fate from that fateful mistake. During one of those, he didn\u2019t play any football at all. In 2022, he enrolled at Texas College. It took time for him to earn trust from the program, but he eventually found his way onto the field at the HBCU that plays in the NAIA. <\/p>\n

A year later, he made the move to Butler Community College. In six games, he scored four touchdowns, enough for New Mexico State to take a chance on him. Last fall, he played with a torn pec in Las Cruces. Despite the injury, he started in 11 games and led the Aggies in rushing with 813 yards. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a man of faith and I know that worrying doesn\u2019t do anything for anybody,\u201d McGowan said. \u201cI transformed all of those negative emotions and anxiety and put it in my craft, continued at the game, and continued doing what I love. I kept making the right next step \u2014 the right next step, the right next step \u2014 and before you know it, you look up and you\u2019ll be at the right place with the right people at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Connection that got him to Kentucky<\/p>\n

McGowan didn\u2019t know the right place would be at Kentucky. Through all of his ups and downs, Jay Boulware continually checked in on him. Boulware recruited him to Oklahoma out of high school, many years before he became the running backs coach at Kentucky. <\/p>\n

That relationship gave Mark Stoops confidence that, despite McGowan\u2019s rap sheet, he could be the right fit at Kentucky. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really come a long way. He\u2019s learned,\u201d said the Kentucky head coach<\/a>. \u201cHe made a mistake, and so he has to make the most of it. He\u2019s been a very good addition. I love his personality. He\u2019s fun, energetic, does his job, and he\u2019s dynamic.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lessons that will make McGowan a Successful Wildcat<\/p>\n

Maturity is the word used most frequently to describe this Kentucky football team. You\u2019ll often hear coaches say that the best lessons come from mistakes. McGowan\u2019s mistakes made him a more spiritual person, one who lives in the present. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think God just kinda slowed me down. The way I was at the time, the way that I was living was not sustainable. At the time, I was too immature to see that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, having a lot of time to reflect and a little bit of spiritual freedom to explore myself and explore life. Man, being able to walk into a NAIA program, or a JUCO program, or even a program like New Mexico State, to take everything I learned from that whole time and to be able to apply it to the team, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve enjoyed. It\u2019s made it worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As soon as he arrived in Lexington, McGowan wowed his new Kentucky teammates and coaches. Mark Stoops described him as a \u201cpro\u201d and a \u201cbig-time player,\u201d high praise for a man who isn\u2019t quick to dish it out in the preseason. <\/p>\n

You might say that McGowan\u2019s best trait is his explosiveness. You could also commend his physicality, but neither of those is the correct answer. He is a talented athlete who is driven to make the most out of his opportunity for redemption. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday I\u2019m cheesing. Everyday I\u2019m smiling. I\u2019m all in on this season. I\u2019m excited,\u201d McGowan told KSR. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most confident I\u2019ve been in any season in any year that I\u2019ve played football in my entire life, just because I know the group of guys we have. And I know what I\u2019m coming with: Late nights, studying, up early in the film room, working out constantly, just because that\u2019s the only thing on my mind. It\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s on my heart. It\u2019s nothing short of a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Your KSR+ membership starts at just $1 for the first week \u2013 and we\u2019ll throw in a complimentary year of access to The Athletic.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s been a journey to get here.\u201d Seth McGowan is putting that lightly. A once-promising blue chip recruit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,45457],"class_list":{"0":"post-271572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-seth-mcgowan-20-poteet"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114993066555703584","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}