GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Josh McGowen’s lifelong dream had come true, but his parents and McAllen High coach Kevin Brewer thought it would be better not to let him know.
Stephen F. Austin running backs coach Jeremy Moses called early last week to tell Brewer and the McGowen family that they were planning to offer Josh a full football scholarship. But instead of breaking the news to Josh, they let him hear it from Moses in person during Saturday’s unofficial visit.
“Everybody held it as a surprise,” McGowen said. “Once I got there, they told me, and I literally almost broke down in tears. My mom, we were all excited. It was an emotional stage, right there.”
The offer was McGowen’s first, a fulfillment of his longtime goal of playing Division I football. He said his first contact with SFA was only two or three weeks ago, after one of the coaches saw his highlight video.
In his first year at McAllen High after transferring from Overhills High in Spring Lake, North Carolina, McGowen has been turning heads with his play, ranking second among Valley 6A running backs with 1,474 yards.
“I knew it was inevitable,” Brewer said of McGowen getting a Division I offer. “To break the ice and get that first one is important. Hopefully, this leads to more for him to give him more options.”
McGowen has been a driving force for McHi’s offense this season, picking up 52.2 percent of the Bulldogs’ total yardage and scoring 22 total touchdowns to provide 52.1 percent of McAllen’s total points.
His evasiveness and 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash have made him a threat to take any run to the house, and he’s ranked as the team’s leading receiver with 150 yards on 13 catches. He’s shown ability as a pass catcher throughout his career, hauling in 33 passes for 534 yards during his final season at Overhills.
Still, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to parlay his talents into a scholarship, at least for Division I football.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it for football as much,” McGowen said. “I always thought I was going to get it for track.”
At last season’s North Carolina 4A state meet, the state’s largest classification, McGowen finished third in the long jump and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
His career-best times in the 110 hurdles (14.37 seconds) and long jump (23 feet, 1 1/2 inches) would’ve ranked as the Valley’s best last season, and his time in the 300 hurdles (38.49) would’ve ranked second.
Brewer said he could see McGowen pursuing both football and track successfully at the college level, and McGowen is open to either avenue.
“I definitely will be listening out for track offers,” McGowen said. “But the main thing is since I can get a football scholarship, the chances are I can walk on to a track team.”
McGowen said he’s also gotten some attention from UTSA and Sam Houston State for football, although he admits that overall he hasn’t talked to as many interested schools as he hoped.
With McAllen High all but ensured a berth in the playoffs, McGowen will have at least two more games to draw more looks and continue his push toward the McHi record book.
He’s three touchdowns away from the single-season touchdown record (23 by Manny Mendoza in 2010), four scores away from the single-season rushing touchdown record (21 by Trey Dube in 2009), four points from the single-season scoring record (140 by Mendoza in 2010), and 410 yards from the single-season rushing record (1,853 by Mike de la Fuente in 2002).
“The season I’m having is great,” McGowen said, “but I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself without the team.”