Branden Bowen learned that he would be Ohio State’s starting right tackle for Saturday’s season opener against FAU at the same time everyone else did.
While Bowen ran with the first-team offensive line for much of the preseason, no one officially told Bowen that he would start Saturday’s game before Ryan Day told the media during his press conference Tuesday that Bowen would be the first player on the field for the Buckeyes at right tackle this weekend.
Tuesday was an emotional day for Bowen, who has not played a single snap for the Buckeyes since he broke his leg in Ohio State’s sixth game of the year against Maryland in October 2017. After working so hard to come back from that injury, which ended his 2017 season early, forced him to undergo three surgeries and miss the entire 2018 season, Bowen has achieved his goal of earning his way back into Ohio State’s starting lineup for his fifth-year senior season.
“Just seeing the news a few minutes ago, it was hard not to break down and cry, because it’s been a long road,” Bowen said while meeting with the media Tuesday afternoon.
Thinking back on all the obstacles he has had to overcome, Bowen described the past two years as “very, very difficult.” But now that he’s come out the other side of it as a starter on Ohio State’s offensive line once again, Bowen believes that difficult journey has ultimately made him stronger.
“I’m happy I went through it,” Bowen said. “It’s made me a much better person, a much better player and a much better man.”
Before the injury, Bowen was Ohio State’s starting right guard for the first six games of the 2017 season, and that starting experience certainly helped him in his quest to win a starting job at tackle – which he considers to be his natural position – this spring and summer. With only one returning starter up front in left tackle Thayer Munford, Bowen is one of the Buckeyes’ most experienced offensive linemen, even with his season-and-a-half layoff.
He still had to prove he belonged back in the lineup, though, in a competition with true sophomore Nicholas Petit-Frere, who arrived at Ohio State last year as the top-ranked offensive tackle in the recruiting class of 2018. Ohio State’s coaches have expressed that they believe Petit-Frere is ready to play this year, too, and that Petit-Frere likely will also see playing time on Saturday, but Bowen earned his spot in the starting five by putting together what coaches considered to be his best offseason as a Buckeye.
“He’s healthy,” said Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. “He’s practicing as tough as he’s ever practiced. He’s practicing as low with great pad level in the run game. He’s had a tremendous preseason, and he needed to. Our football team needed him to.”
Bowen said the competition in practice, not only with Petit-Frere but also with Ohio State’s defensive ends like Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper, pushed him to perform at his best. He also said he has a better attitude than he used to have, which he believes has made him better both on the field and in the locker room.
“A lot of players tend to get down on themselves when something bad happens or something like that, but over the past couple years, I’ve been able to really learn that something bad happens, shake it off, next play,” Bowen said. “And I’ve also been able to help our other offensive linemen with that mindset as well.”
“I’m happy I went through it. It’s made me a much better person, a much better player and a much better man.”– Branden Bowen on his road back from injury
It also helps that Bowen has a strong support system at home. Bowen and his fiancee Kate Lindsey have been engaged since last summer and became parents to a son, Booker, in March, and seeing their faces every day has helped Bowen stay motivated and keep things in perspective.
“The stakes are definitely higher. But at the same time, the support system is also a lot better,” Bowen said. “At the same time, there’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of support there as well. So it’s kind of balanced itself out. It hasn’t been too much on me or anything like that. But it definitely helps a lot.”
Bowen knows he will be emotional when he takes the field for his first game in more than 22 months on Saturday, but he doesn’t expect to be overcome by those emotions. Knowing from experience how quickly his opportunity to start could be taken away from him, Bowen wants to make the most of every snap he gets.
“I’m not gonna be thinking about the nerves and all that. I’m just gonna be thinking about how grateful I am to be back and to be back on that field, run out of the tunnel with my brothers and be able to play in that atmosphere again,” Bowen said. “Having the time that I did to start, and then having that taken away from me through an injury, was eye-opening. It really gives you a different perspective on how important it is to value your time that you have. And so going into this year, I think I just value everything and everybody around me a lot more.”
Day said Tuesday that he expects the Buckeyes to play seven or eight offensive linemen in Saturday’s game, with Joshua Alabi rotating in for Munford at left tackle and Petit-Frere rotating in for Bowen at right tackle. Inside, the Buckeyes will start Jonah Jackson at left guard, Josh Myers at center and Wyatt Davis at right guard, but Day said “don't be surprised” if true freshman center Harry Miller sees some playing time, as well.
“We're going to have our starters, so Thayer and Branden will start at tackle, to start with. And then those guys, they’ll come in and they’ll roll a little bit,” Day said. “There's some depth there. It's hard to find that many linemen who we think have the ability to start and play in the Big Ten. We do. We're lucky enough to have that.”
