Oklahoma State football's 'grandpas have unfinished business' in return to 2024 Cowboys
STILLWATER — Once upon a time, a sixth-year senior was a rarity in college football.
But in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve reached the era of the seventh-year senior.
And Oklahoma State is set to have two of them in 2024.
Quarterback Alan Bowman announced Thursday that he has been granted his seventh year of eligibility by the NCAA and one of the first teammates to congratulate him was linebacker Justin Wright — also set to be a seventh-year senior.
Wright played in just two games this past season before undergoing knee surgery and was granted his eligibility extension in late December, sources told The Oklahoman.
Wright offered encouragement to Bowman on social media after the quarterback’s Thursday announcement.
“Us grandpas have unfinished business,” Wright said, jokingly referencing a 15th year of eligibility.
More: Oklahoma State football adds tight end Tyler Foster from Ohio in transfer portal
The internet had fun with Bowman’s announcement, listing off other quarterbacks who graduated high school in 2018, like third-year NFL starters Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence.
Because of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the 2020 football season, the NCAA granted all eligible athletes an additional year. And the NCAA maintains its rule for offering potential medical hardship waivers to athletes who suffer season-ending injuries.
Seventh-year seniors still remain rare, yet these two are far from being the first. In fact, one of the first post-COVID players to be granted a seventh year was a former Cowboy as well.
Linebacker Kevin Henry, who concluded his career at Tulane, spent his first five seasons at OSU. He had been granted a sixth year of eligibility when he transferred to Tulane for the 2020 season, then was given the COVID year for 2021.
More: Oklahoma State football LB Collin Oliver 'looking forward to one final ride' with Cowboys
Wright, originally from Abilene, Texas, spent his first five seasons at Tulsa, then transferred to OSU as a super-senior in 2023 and played in just two games, making the NCAA’s decision for his seventh year an easy call. He returns to a linebacker unit that has two key starters back in Nick Martin and Collin Oliver.
Bowman’s journey was a bit different, since his injury-disrupted season happened much earlier.
Bowman suffered a broken collarbone in the third game of the 2019 season, when he was a true sophomore at Texas Tech. After transferring to Michigan in 2021, he had two seasons in which he played in fewer than four games. The NCAA allowed him to use one of those seasons as a redshirt year, with his 2019 season counting toward his medical hardship.
Born about a month apart in 2000, Wright and Bowman will both be 24 years old when OSU opens spring practice in mid-March.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football has 7th-year duo in Justin Wright, Alan Bowman
