Some more context on the Bowers commit:
Bowers is ranked as the #63 QB on RankByOffers.com. So while some other QB’s may be ranked higher on Rivals and QBHitList, they aren’t necessarily getting college offers.
24 of the top 30 QBs on RankByOffers are off the board, and Wake is not involved with any of them. All of their recruitments are very competitive (as a side note, Duke is still looking for a QB and is involved in several of those battles). After those top 30, it’s a tier where the guys are about the same. Different strengths and weaknesses though (for sure).
Judging from Twitter, contact with Bowers probably started sometime in the March/April timeframe leading to his April 20 offer. Around the time that Wake started looking for backup plans for Taylor Powell.
Here is a look back at how it unfolded (note: “RBO” is their QB ranking on RankByOffers.com):
I believe that the focus from November through January was on 5 QBs that ultimately blew up with offers: Kasim Hill (RBO #8), Hendon Hooker (RBO #15), Daulton Hyatt (RBO #21), Myles Brennan (RBO #25) and Taylor Powell (RBO #37). There was a mutual interest for a while with Hyatt, but that clearly cooled well before his commitment to Arkansas. Wake never gained traction with Hill (now committed to Maryland), Hooker (now committed to Virginia Tech) or Brennan (now committed to LSU and named an Elite 11 finalist).
By early-February it was apparent that only 1 QB (Powell) of the original 5 was considering Wake. That was when Wake offered Johnathan Lewis (RBO #43). There were some reports that Lewis was considering Wake, but well before he decided to stay in-state and commit to Rutgers it was clear that Wake wasn’t in contention. It was kind of a similar story with Tommy DeVito (RBO #39) who was offered on March 31, but made it clear throughout that he wanted to stay closer to home. DeVito eventually chose Syracuse and was recently given an invite to the Elite 11 finals.
April was likely spent evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of that next tier of QBs that included Bowers. California QB Jake Haener (RBO #75) was reportedly considered. Haener has offers from Hawaii, Akron, Toledo and Middle Tennessee. After that it is not clear who was considered. I would speculate that Henry Columbi (RBO #52) and Charlotte’s Kingsley Ifedi (RBO #60) were probably looked at as options. Columbi had an Arkansas offer very briefly before that spot filled and was also offered by Iowa State, Toledo, Temple, Western Michigan and FIU. Ifedi had offers from Pitt, Georgia Southern, ECU, Colorado State and Charlotte. However the staff clearly preferred Bowers to those three (or, for that matter, any of the other remaining QBs) and pulled the trigger on an offer on April 20.
The biggest mystery in this QB drama is of course Powell, who has received a lot of attention from Wake fans since he was offered on December 3. I think there are 3 possibilities. First, he could be locked and loaded to commit to Vandy in the very near-term. That would be somewhat surprising as Vandy is reportedly waiting on a decision from a QB that they like better than Powell. Second, he could be willing to gamble that if he waits long enough an even bigger offer will come his way. The last possibility is that he may have decided that for whatever reason Wake was simply not a fit. In any of those scenarios, it’s clear that Powell was not excited about Wake and so frankly I don’t feel like we missed out. I want guys that are excited about Wake.
