QB Bower The Real Diamond

Two-years ago, a college recruiter said that a sophomore quarterback named Brad Bower would be the talk of town when he was a senior. Guess what? He was right. Brad Bower is physically as good as Brady Quinn, Clayton Richard and Todd Boeckman. Bower has a very bright future ahead of him.

It’s rankings time again and for once I couldn’t wait for this day to come. Why you ask? Because Hinsdale (Ill.) Central quarterback Brad Bower will get his just due today.

We knew Bower was good, he has a solid ranking and he’s a Midwest “Top 100” prospect. However, after watching Bower last week, he’s definitely a national prospect with a bright future.

Bower is physically and athletically as gifted as anyone in Illinois and the Midwest for that matter.

Mr. Bower shows very good arm strength, tremendous leadership skills and smarts on the gridiron.

So what sets Brad Bower apart from other athletes or quarterbacks? Speed, speed and more speed!

Bower has something you can’t teach. He runs a legit 4.4-40 yard dash. Several times he ran the option, kept the ball and took off like a bullet.

On one play in the second quarter, he took a quarterback draw up the middle for 70-yards untouched. Not impressed? Three defenders had the angle on Bower and not a single one of them touched him.

Put eight men in the box and Bower will burn you in the air. After all, he’s a D-1 quarterback. His big target is 6-foot-5, 240-pound, Trey Koziol. Koziol has already pledged Boston College.

Double team Koziol and there’s speed at the wide receiver positions and in the backfeld. Bower has a legit shot at leading Hinsdale Central to a state championship.

“Brad has come a long way,” said Hinsdale Central head coach Ken Schreiner. “I’ve seen him go from a 6-foot, 170-pound, sophomore and now he’s 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior.

“He (Bower) physically looks like a tight end. He’s the leader in what I think is a very unique class.

“Brad Bower is the best all-around athlete that we’ve ever had at this school and that’s saying a lot. We have a great tennis team and if Brad wanted, he’d be the #1 singles player on that team. He’s been playing tennis since he was three years old.

“He’s just a great athlete. Brad anchors are 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams in track. He’s a leader, I just can’t say enough about Brad Bower.” Schreiner said. After watching Brad Bower in action last Friday, I can’t say enough about him either. He’s verbally committed to Illinois and Fighting Illini fans from coast to coast should be excited to have this young man in the fold.

Illinois has some good quarterbacks already on campus. Chris Pazan was the best quarterback in the state of Illinois a year ago. Tim Brasic is also a true freshman for the Illini and he set tons of high school records last year.

The best advise I can give the Illinois quarterbacks is study and work hard because Brad Bower is coming and it’s going to be hard to keep him off the field.

Think Kurt Kittner with the speed of Brandon Lloyd and toughness of Jerry Schumacher.

If you’re a Fighting Illini fan that lives in the Chicago area, take a Friday night and go watch your future quarterback. You will not be disappointed.