Bowden grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and originally attended Liberty High School. He played running back during his freshman year before becoming the Leopards starting quarterback as a sophomore and was named first team OHSAA Division V All-State after passing for 761 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions and rushing for 1,782 yards. Bowden transferred to Warren G. Harding High School going into his junior year after his family moved to Warren, Ohio. As a senior, Bowden passed for 1,366 yards and rushed for 2,277 yards and scored a combined 57 touchdowns and was named the OHSAA Division II Offensive Player of the Year and was the runner-up for Ohio's Mr. Football Award. Bowden was rated a four star prospect by Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports. He initially committed to play college football at Indiana, but de-committed before deciding to play at the University of Kentucky over offers from Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Bowden stuck to his commitment to Kentucky despite a late offer from Ohio State. He finished his high school career as the sixth-leading rusher in Ohio high school history with 7,387 yards and 10th with 91 rushing touchdowns. Bowden also played basketball at Harding, averaging 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists and playing in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game as a senior.
College career
As a true freshman, Bowden moved to wide receiver and caught 17 passes for 210 yards and served as the Wilcats' primary kick returner and was named to the Freshman All-Southeastern Conference team as a return specialist. Bowden was also used at quarterback in the Wildcat formation, rushing for 37 yards on 12 attempts and also completed three of four passing attempts for 92 yards with the lone incompletion being an interception. Bowden entered his sophomore season on the Paul Hornung Award watchlist. He finished the season with 67 catches for 745 yards and five touchdowns, all highest on the team, while also returning five punts for 146 yards and two touchdowns and 27 kicks for 539 yards and was named second team All-SEC as an All-Purpose Performer by the conference's coaches. Against Missouri, Bowden scored a 67-yard touchdown on the first punt return of his career while also catching 13 passes for 166 yards and was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Bowden entered his junior season on the Hornung and Fred Biletnikoff Award watchlists and second team preseason All-SEC. After the first four games of the season, Bowden was made the Wildcats starting quarterback after injuries to Kentucky's first and second string quarterbacks. In his first start against Arkansas, Bowden led Kentucky to a 24-20 win after completing seven of 11 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown along with 24 carries for 196 yards and two touchdowns and was named the SEC Co-Offensive player of the Week and the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. He was named a first team midseason All-American by the Associated Press. Bowden set the SEC record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game when he rushed for 284 yards and four touchdowns against rivalLouisville in the final game of the regular season and was again named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week and the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. Bowden finished the regular season with 1,235 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, 330 yards passing and two touchdowns, 200 kickoff return yards and caught 30 passes for 348 yards while the Wildcats went 5-2 in games he started at quarterback and was named first team All-SEC as an all-purpose performer and was selected as the recipient of the 2019 Paul Hornung Award. He was named a consensus first team All-American after being selected by the American Football Coaches Association, AP and the Sporting News. Bowden was also named first team All-America by Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, USA Today and The Athletic. Bowden announced that he would enter the 2020 NFL Draft after playing in Kentucky's bowl game, forgoing his senior season. Bowden was named the MVP of the 2019 Belk Bowl after rushing for 233 yards on 34 carries and completing six of twelve pass attempts for 73 yards an interception and throwing a game-winning touchdown pass with 15 seconds left.
Professional career
Bowden was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the third round with the 80th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was officially drafted at the running back position by the Raiders with the intention of using him as a "utility player" on offense.
