The West Virginia Mountaineers football program continues to add pieces to the roster with the latest being a commitment from Iowa Central C.C. 2025 running back Cyncir Bowers.
Bowers, 5-foot-10, 184-pounds, spent one season at Iowa Western where he carried the ball 155 times for 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s an average of 6.6 yards per carry.
The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native also hauled in 24 passes for 363 yards and 2 more touchdowns.
For his efforts, Bowers was named to the first-team ICCAC All-Conference list.
The junior college running back took an official visit to West Virginia May 8-10 and provides another option in a rebuilding backfield for the Mountaineers football team.
Bowers collected scholarship offers from a number of programs including Florida State, Memphis, Western Michigan, Old Dominion, Troy, Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia State, Bethune-Cookman and a number of other programs.
Bowers has at least three years of eligibility remaining in his career.
Bowers is the third running back addition for West Virginia since spring football concluded, joining SMU transfer running back Jaylan Knighton and Ferris State transfer running back Kannon Katzer.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Bowers and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Bowers is equipped with good speed and plus vision. Looks like he is shot out of a cannon at times with his ability to turn on the jets and hit the hole with little wasted movement. Once he is in the open field, Bowers is difficult to catch from behind and displays solid contact balance when he is hit.
An ideal fit for the spread rushing attack that head coach Rich Rodriguez utilizes, Bowers is very effective running out of the shotgun and routinely picks up big chunks of yards.
Displays the ability to turn runs into big gains with how he can bounce things outside or cut inside and follows his blockers then lets his speed guide him down the sidelines.
Also, a good receiving option out of the backfield, Bowers can be utilized in a number of ways on the offensive side of the ball and even as a kick returner on special teams. He is a real threat after the catch as a backfield option and brings an exciting skill set to the table.
Bowers will need to adjust to the highest level, but his film is certainly impressive for a late addition junior college prospect at this stage of the off-season.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia is now up to seven total players in the running back room with the addition of Bowers but two of those will be gone after this upcoming season and two more are in their junior year of eligibility. Bowers is a strong addition that has a lot of eligibility remaining meaning that while he could compete for time this season, there is a pathway for a much larger role if that doesn’t work out immediately down the line.
The Pennsylvania native already has roots in this area of the country so the transition won’t be sharp, and he gives the program another speedy backfield option that can compete immediately. West Virginia hasn’t been playing around when it comes to the transformation of the roster and Bowers is another example of that.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia has now restocked the running back room after the departures of several players at the end of the spring but just when you think they’re done at a position the Mountaineers make another addition. It’s clear that competition has become the primary focus across the board and while seven running backs should seem to fulfill that need at the spot there’s no guarantee here.
This coaching staff has been aggressive across the board and even with the numbers getting tight it isn’t likely that you can truly rule out any position being further addressed this off-season.
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