Former Penn State star NaVorro Bowman is used to adversity in his life. Adversity is a word that has gotten absurdly co-opted, grossly misused and perverted into a horribly shopworn cliche utterly destroying it’s actual meaning. So when I say Navorro Bowman has dealt with a lot of adversity, I mean he really truly has dealt with actual adversity.
Now a 3 time All-Pro Linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers, Bowman suffered a potentially devastating knee injury in the NFC Title game yesterday. Doctors confirmed it’s an ACL tear.
NaVorro Bowman appeared to make a game-changing play in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks, stripping Seattle receiver Jermaine Kearse of the ball deep in 49ers territory, with Seattle holding a 20-17 lead and less than 9 minutes to play. After Kearse caught the ball on a third-and-goal play from the 10, Bowman stripped him of the ball and went down to the ground with the ball. But officials ruled that the Seahawks recovered the fumble, and told 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh he could not review the play because it was ruled a fumble on the field, and recovery cannot be challenged.
Like I said, NaVorro Bowman has held to overcome serious obstacles in the past.
He finished his junior season with a heavy heart and an outstanding performance. NaVorro Bowman played against Southern California in the 2009 Rose Bowl one day after his high school coach, Nick Lynch, was killed in an automobile accident in Maryland.
NaVorro Bowman responded by breaking the Penn State bowl record with five tackles for loss (minus-21 yards), and tying the Rose Bowl record set by Ohio State’s Andy Katzenmoyer in the 1997 game. He also recorded his fourth sack of the season among his eight tackles (seven solo) against the Trojans. For his superb efforts against USC, Bowman was selected to ESPN.com’s 2008-09 All-Bowl team, one of two Big Ten players named to the squad.
An ESPN E:60 story this past weekend featured NaVorro learning of a family secret and the passing of his biological father he never knew and the father that raised him within months of each other, the 49ers linebacker embarked on a personal journey to discover his family and himself. ESPN.com senior writer Jeffri Chadiha told an extended version of the E:60 story. NaVorro Bowman is yet another chapter in the storied history of “Linebacker U.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments discussing: Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Bears and Bulls on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)