Former Arizona high school standouts living pro football dreams overseas

They are seven to eight years removed from high school, but the sport that motivated them through their school days still have a deep passion within and carries them in their mid-20s.

Football is helping former Arizona high school football standouts Cameron Yowell, C.J Fowler, Kare' Lyles and John Rincon fulfill a pro dream. Only it's coming overseas.

All four have found football nirvana in Europe.

Yowell, who played quarterback at Scottsdale Notre Dame, where he graduated in 2017, is getting ready to start his second professional season in Poland. After tearing his ACL a couple of games into his pro debut, he underwent surgery, rehabbed and decided to come back, this time signing with three-time Polish Football League champion Lowlanders Bialystok.

Fowler, who quarterbacked Mesa Desert Ridge to the 2015 state championship game in the gauntlet conference of Division I, and also graduated in 2017, filled in at QB on Yowell's Polish team last year, the Tychy Falcons, after Yowell suffered a torn ACL. Fowler signed with the Oslo Vikings this year.

Rincon, the Division I Player of the Year on the 2015 Peoria Centennial state championship team as a two-way wrecking ball at fullback and linebacker, who is a 2016 graduate, is starting his pro season for the Marseille Blue Stars in France.

Lyles, who starred at quarterback for Scottsdale Saguaro in the mid-2010s and was a 2016 high school graduate, is the quarterback of the Prague Lions in the European League.

High school memories are still fresh for all of them. But they've moved on since they were stars under the Friday night lights. Since leaving high school each were derailed in their college careers. But the love of the game never left them, and they're finding opportunities overseas.

Usually, teams in Europe can only have a handful of Americans on a roster. They get free housing, meals paid for, transportation, a salary, and provided a part-time job while living abroad during the season.

Lyles lands in Europe's ultimate league

When they get overseas, the dream is to get into the European League of Football, which comprises about nine nations known as the super league. Basically, the NFL of Europe.

Kare' Lyles is there now in his second pro season overseas, signing with a team in the Czech Republic.

Lyles' last season at Saguaro came in 2014, when he was a junior and helped lead the Sabercats to a 14-0 state championship season. That team featured current NFL starters Christian Kirk and Byron Murphy. Lyles, now 25, moved with his family to Wisconsin for his senior year. He signed with the school his father played for, Wisconsin, but an injury in spring ball led to a redshirt season then a return to Arizona, where he played for Scottsdale Community College. He went to Southern Illinois, took over as the starter three games in, then got hurt. The pandemic, along with the injury, led to transferring to Jackson State, where he played for Deion Sanders on a team that went to the Celebration Bowl.

After spending 2022 working for the NFL Network, Lyles had the itch to play again, and sought the overseas opportunity. He played in Germany last year for the New Yorker Lions, getting the team to the semifinals, passing for 1,745 yards and 23 TDs.

"The opportunity to explore the world, meet new people, and play the game that I love has led me to play overseas," Lyles said. "European football is highly competitive and growing fast with the European League of Football growing every year.

"It's my passion to play football at a high level and to win with people that I get to build relationships with. Football has led me to different places and I've got to meet great people from all walks of life. I really feel blessed to be on the journey that I'm on."

Yowell driven by Brock Purdy's story

It's been a crazy journey for Cameron Yowell since leaving Notre Dame Prep, going to Division III Occidental College in California for a 2017 season that was cut short three games into the season after the school canceled football due to a lack of healthy players and safety concerns. He then went to Phoenix College, but after one year, the Maricopa County Community College District eliminated the sport due to financial issues. He walked on at then assistant coach Kenny Dillingham's encouragement at Auburn, where Bo Nix was the quarterback. Auburn lost all of the 2020 season due to COVID. Yowell ended up graduating summa cum laude in August 2021.

He was amped up about going to Poland last year, but in the third quarter of his pro debut he suffered the ACL injury after rushing for two TDs. He came back in to throw two TDs in the 36-28 win. After sitting out the next game, playing with a knee brace, he ruptured the ligament in his knee in the third series. He finished the season in Poland as the receivers coach and calling plays at times, teaching everything he knew to the Polish players.

"I think the most important thing is wanting to go out on your own terms," Yowell said. "I thought it was a test. You know my journey. I've always had a bunch of adversity. It kept me from my goals. The mission remains the same."

He underwent surgery in Denver in late May 2023, and was full clear last week beginning practices for his new team in Poland.

"Injuries are inevitable, and you have to prepare yourself to handle them," Yowell said. "That's what I did this offseason. I take 100% of accountability. I did a different kind of regimen for my knee. I came back controlling everything I can control. I got the best shoes for turf and grass. I've been doing full ACL training. I had the best surgery. I checked all my boxes, and at this point I'm ready to roll. I'm excited to get back out."

Yowell trained in high school and through college years under QB coach Dan Manucci, sometimes throwing next to Brock Purdy, who overcame UCL surgery in the offseason to lead the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in his second NFL season.

"I just wanted a shot," Yowell said. "I think Brock Purdy's story is a huge testament to this. The last pick of the draft. He's not the prototypical size and stature of a quarterback. I think that's part of the reason why there's so much hate around him (on social media). All he got was a chance. And that's all you really ever need. You get to be part of good system, good coaches, good players, good development, it's amazing what you can do.

"All I ever wanted was a shot. I'm glad I've got one, and have the opportunity to play for the defending champs in Poland. My goal is to eventually get to the European League of Football, which is the international league and have success there. Have a six- or seven-year career. We'll see what happens with one-year deals. That's how it works in Europe."

Rincon living well in France

After John Rincon led Centennial to the Division I state title in 2015, that 17-team gauntlet year, as a two-way star leading to The Arizona Republic selecting him as the D-I Player of the Year, Rincon made the most of his college opportunity at Baker, where he also played both ways.

He is in France now, where he's one of two Americans on the team. They can be on the field at the same time, he said. When he was in Germany, they allowed four Americans on the team, but only two could play at the same time, he said.

The American quarterback is very popular in Europe. On defense, it's the defensive back and linebackers that European teams like to get from America. At France, Rincon still is playing both sides of the ball.

"For me, being a versatile guy helps a lot," Rincon said. "Teams get more for their money with guys who can play both ways.

"I started in Mexico, and over there played outside, inside and safety. When I went to Austria, I was mike (middle linebacker). In Germany, I was a nickel. Here I'm an outside edge guy and play some running back. It gets you more opportunities in Europe."

He's about a three-hour train ride from Paris. He gets housing, food, the flight there and back, and a stipend each month.

"It's not a lot, but enough to survive and travel Europe," Rincon said. "It's cheap to travel when you're down here. I can go to Paris and back for $30 on a train. I can go to to Barcelona on a plane for $100 round trip.

"Health insurance is covered. Transportation, whether that's a bus pass or train pass. Sometimes, they'll get you a team car. There are a lot of perks."

The crowds, he said, are good. His current team in France lost in the championship game. Their semifinal at home, he said, got 5,000 fans. He is trying to get into the European League of Football. He saw that a team in Germany had a home game where about 32,000 showed up. The GFL championship game, in the past, average around 20,000 to 25,000 fans, he said.

"They've had a decline since COVID, but football is popular, with the NFL coming in Germany to play games."

He said he is driven to play as long as he can.

"I just love the game so much," Rincon said. "If the body is still allowing me to go, why not?"

Fowler overseas experience 'priceless'

CJ Fowler has latched on with a team in Norway, the Oslo Vikings, competing in the Swedish Superserien to start his third pro season. It is the highest level of pro football in Sweden. After graduating from Desert Ridge in 2017, he made his biggest college splash at Mississippi Valley State as a dual threat quarterback. He had his best game against North Dakota State, throwing for 263 yards and a touchdown. He totaled 2,283 passing yards and nine TDs in 18 games for the Division I school.

He spent his last college season in 2019 at Division II Western New Mexico, where he passed for 3,232 yards and 22 TDs.

"I got a from a coach overseas a couple of years ago about C.J., wanting to know some information and background stuff," said Blue Ridge coach Jeremy Hathcock, who coached Fowler at Desert Ridge. "I told him that he was the smartest football player I've ever coached and that he has all the tools to make it happen, if given the opportunity."

Last year, Fowler started out with the Swarco Raiders on the Austrian Football League, where he threw for 290 yards and two TDs, before returning to the Tychy Falcons, after Yowell's season-ending injury.

Fowler is grateful to still play, and to get paid for it.

"I derive a lot of value from traveling to Europe and experiencing the different cultures, food, architecture, history, art, people," Fowler said. "The world is rich in these things and getting to experience another perspective, and make more informed decisions, is something I don't take for granted.

"I couldn't care less about the material things in life. But being able to experience things like this to me is priceless. The people out there take care of me. The people in Europe place a lot of value on how you interact with other people, instead of how much money you have, and that's something that really resonates to me."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Arizona HS football players fulfilling dreams overseas