Penn State grad transfer LB Manny Bowen leaves Utah for 'business opportunity'
Manny Bowen left Penn State with the intention of playing his final season of eligibility with Utah in 2019. That won’t be happening.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Wednesday that Bowen had left the team before the start of fall camp for a “business opportunity” that the linebacker felt he couldn’t pass up.
“It surprised us completely,” Whittingham said via the Salt Lake Tribune. “Because there was no hint or nothing out of the ordinary all through summer training.”
Bowen left Penn State before the 2018 season after he was suspended for the final three games of the 2017 season and subsequently dismissed. He was reinstated to the team ahead of last season but chose to graduate from Penn State and play elsewhere.
He chose Utah, a school that had a hole to fill at linebacker in 2019. While the Utes are the Pac-12 South favorites and were picked to win the conference in the preseason media poll released a week ago, the Utes need to replace the production of departed linebackers Cody Barton and Chase Hansen. The two combined for 230 tackles, nine sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss in 2018.
Bowen was being counted on to replace some of that production. He had 51 tackles in nine games for Penn State in 2017 and had 67 tackles in 13 games as a sophomore.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports
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