Jon Bowling Season 2002

Senior tight end Jon Bowling had his senior season cut short after he suffered a knee injury against Kansas State. The Lincoln native had surgery to repair ligament damage to his right knee shortly after the injury and will not be available in the bowl game. Bowling was one of four Huskers to see extensive action at tight end and supplied quarterback Jammal Lord with a strong receiving threat from the position.

Bowling had four catches as a senior, including one touchdown. The 2002 season capped a career in which Bowling appeared in 42 games and had 14 career receptions. Bowling was a big-play threat throughout his career, averaging 21.5 yards per catch this season and nearly 17 yards per reception in his Husker career.

2002: Bowling played in each of Nebraska?s first 12 games as an alternate behind fellow senior Aaron Golliday at tight end. He started four games when Nebraska opened in a two-tight end formation. Bowling caught four passes for 86 yards this fall and had a two-yard touchdown reception against seventh-ranked Texas. Bowling?s first catch of the season was a career-long 62-yarder against Troy State. He had a 16-yard catch against McNeese State and a six-yard grab at Oklahoma State. His final catch of the season was the touchdown grab against the Longhorns.

2001: Bowling made four receptions for 75 yards (18.8 ypc), including a career-long 27-yard touchdown from Eric Crouch vs. Texas Tech. Bowling had a career-high 41 yards on two receptions against the Red Raiders, scoring his second career touchdown. He also tied his career best in receptions with two for 34 yards at Kansas. Bowling played in the Rose Bowl, but did not have any receptions.

2000: Bowling served as Nebraska?s No. 3 tight end and recorded four receptions for 46 yards. He had one for 12 yards vs. Iowa, a 13-yard touchdown (the first of his career) vs. Missouri, a 13-yard catch vs. Baylor and an eight-yard catch in the season finale vs. Colorado. In the 2000 Alamo Bowl, Bowling caught one pass for nine yards.

1999: Bowling played in eight games, counting the Fiesta Bowl. He caught two passes on the season, both against Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. He totaled 30 yards on those two catches with a season long of 22 yards. Against Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl, Bowling made two more catches for 45 yards. His first reception on third-and-13 went for 17 yards and sustained the Husker drive leading to NU's first touchdown of the second half to put the Huskers up 24-14. His other catch was a career-long 28-yard grab on the first play of Nebraska's second drive.

1998: A scholarship athlete, Bowling redshirted in 1998, his first year on campus, after separating his left shoulder early in fall camp.

At Southeast HS: Bowling was the Lincoln Journal Star Offensive Player of the Year and the offensive captain for the Omaha World-Herald in 1997, playing for Southeast High School in Lincoln. He was the Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year and was the USA Today Nebraska Player of the Year, earning honorable-mention All-America honors. Bowling helped lead Chuck Mizerski?s Southeast team to the state championship in 1997 with a perfect 13-0 record. Playing tight end, linebacker, defensive end and wide receiver, Bowling had 27 catches for 551 yards and two touchdowns and returned five interceptions for touchdowns. He was also a three-year starting forward for the Knights? basketball team and earned second-team super-state honors from the Lincoln Journal Star in 1998, after earning honorable-mention all-state basketball honors in 1997. Bowling was recruited in football by Colorado State, Purdue, Wyoming and Iowa State. He was also recruited by Villanova, Stanford and the Air Force Academy to play basketball.

Personal: The son of Charles and Karen Bowling, Jon was born on Oct. 15, 1979. He majors in secondary education/social science, was an "I've Got Heart" volunteer in 2001 and is a member of the 2002 Unity Council.

Year

G/S

No.

Yds.

Y/R

Y/G

Long

TDs

1998

Redshirt

1999

7/0

2

30

15.0

4.3

22 vs UT B12

0

2000

11/0

4

46

11.5

4.2

13 vs. MU

1

2001

12/0

4

75

18.8

6.8

27 vs. TTU

1

2002

12/4

4

86

21.5

7.2

62 vs. Troy State

1

Totals 42/4 14 237 16.9 5.6 62 vs. Troy State 3

2000 Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee: Receiving, 2-45-0, long 28
2000 Alamo Bowl vs. Northwestern: Receiving, 1-9-0
2002 Rose Bowl vs. Miami: Receiving, none