USC tight end Mark Bowman is scheduled to make somewhere in the $2-3 million range as a true freshman this season.
Rivals ranked him as a 4-star. 247 did as well. ESPN, too.
Don't hate the player, hate the game, right? No one forced USC to give Bowman a deal that a bunch of grown-*** NFL tight ends would gladly take over the next three seasons. I'm not mad at the kid. Actually, I'm not mad at USC, either. If that's the cost of business, that's the cost of business. Brock Williams didn't commit to Texas on Friday because the Longhorns offered his family an unlimited supply of Groupons.
Yet, I found myself wondering the following all weekend ...
a. What on earth does Bowman have to do this season to warrant that kind of investment?
b. A million dollars will still buy you a really good player in college football. An established player. A Hollywood Smothers type. So, how many freshmen in the history of the Texas program have played at 2026 million-dollar levels?
Using the Texas SID record book and my memories, I decided to rank the top five freshman seasons at every position in the history of the program. As we debate the merits of the investments made with young talent in this sport in the modern spending era, I thought getting a realistic idea of how often the needed levels of success actually occur would be a worthy homework assignment. It's heavy on players from the last 40 years. Apologies in advance for anyone I missed.
Buckle up.
