Da'Quan Bowers

Da'Quan Bowers (born February 23, 1990) is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Clemson University, and earned All-American honors. He was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Early years
Bowers was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. He attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, and its football team to an 11–2 record in 2007 by recording 97 tackles on defense, including 33 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. On offense, the 6–3, 265-pounder rushed for 1,219 yards and 19 touchdowns and also caught two touchdown passes. He also averaged 40 yards per kickoff return and blocked seven kicks.

Bowers was ranked the No. 1 overall high school football prospect by ESPN.com in 2008, the first Clemson recruit in history to be ranked as the number-one player in the nation by any recruiting service. Rivals.com dubbed Bowers the top defensive end prospect of the high school classes 2005–2009, describing him as "the closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith".

College career
Bowers graduated early from high school and enrolled at Clemson University in January 2008, where he was a member of the Clemson Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010. He went through 2008 spring drills and had a game-high seven tackles in the 2008 Spring Game. In 2008 Bowers had 47 tackles, most among Tiger defensive linemen and eighth-most on the team while starting six games. In 2009, he finished with 58 tackles in spite of an injury that forced him to miss several games. He had 11 tackles in the ACC Championship game against Georgia Tech.

In 2010 Bowers was second on the team in tackles (74), and led the team in tackles for loss (26), sacks (15.5) and quarterback pressures (20). His 15.5 sacks led the nation and his 26 tackles for loss were tied for most in the nation and were fifth-most in school history. Following the 2010 season, he was a first-team All-ACC selection, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. He was also honored as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

College awards and highlights

 * 2010 First-team All-ACC (DE)
 * 2010 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
 * 2010 Unanimous first-team All-American
 * 2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy
 * 2010 Ted Hendricks Award

2011 NFL Draft
As early as April 2010, Bowers was seen as a candidate for the No. 1 overall spot in the 2011 NFL Draft. He remained at the top of most mock draft projections over the course of the season, especially after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who was widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect for the 2011 draft, returned to school. Along with Nick Fairley, Marcell Dareus, and Patrick Peterson, Bowers was still listed among the best propects available as of January 2011.

Da'Quan Bowers was selected in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bowers was selected lower than expected due to medical issues, including offseason knee surgery. He tore his Achilles tendon on the practice field on May 10, 2012, during the Bucs off-season program. Bowers was activated from the PUP on October 25, 2012. He played his first game of the 2012 season that same night against the Minnesota Vikings.

Personal
His father, Dennis Bowers died on August 8, 2010, in Augusta, Georgia, at the age of 51. He was a gospel singer with the Legendary Singing Stars. As a child, Bowers looked up to Reggie White. Bowers grew up as a Dallas Cowboys fan and is a Los Angeles Lakers fan.

On February 17, 2013, Bowers was arrested in New York City on weapons charges for attempting to check a handgun along with his luggage, which is in line with airline policy, but still illegal in the city of New York.