Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Q&A: Reed Bowman
December 09, 2020 | Football, HailStateBEAT
Getting to know senior punter Reed Bowman
STARKVILLE -Â Each week during the 2020 football season, HailState.com will catch up with one football student-athlete to talk about football, personal favorites and everything that makes them unique. This week, we catch up with senior punter Reed Bowman.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Starkville?
RB: I have to say the small-town atmosphere. It was something that kind of surprised me when I moved here, just how small of a town it was. Now, I know that it is a very unique place, and I really like it a lot.
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Q: When did you decide to be a punter and why did you choose that position?
RB: My dad actually punted when he was in college. He was the punter for Texas Tech. As early as I can remember, instead of going out and throwing the football we would punt. I kind of knew how to do it since I was a little kid. My senior year in high school, nobody was the punter for our school team, so I decided to go out and give it a shot and here we are now.
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Q: What is your first football moment that you can remember?
RB: Probably pee wee football. We were like 10 or 11 years old and we had a kid that was 205 pounds. Everybody else was like 105 pounds, you know, pretty small. I remember I had to do kind of a driving off the ball drill. I was the defensive lineman and he was the offensive lineman. I got whopped pretty good.
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Q: What went through your head when you first jogged out of the tunnel onto the field for your first game at Davis Wade Stadium?
RB: It was awesome. The first time I ran out of the tunnel, I could just tell that this is exactly where I wanted to be. [We have] an amazing fan base [at Mississippi State] and it was just so much fun. It was really, really special.
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Q: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
RB: One thing I like to do is reading through bible verses. Either in the hotel or on the bus before going [to the stadium].
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Q: What is one country that you want to visit in the future?
RB: I would say Australia. One of my good friends that I met on my journey of playing college football is from Australia. I have always been interested and would love to go there and visit with him and see everything down there. I would probably spend two weeks and just see as much of the country as I can see. I would love to see an Australian-rules football game. I have seen a few on TV and I think watching it in person would be cool. It is an interesting game. They pass with their feet. It seems like it is a mix between football, soccer and a little bit of rugby.
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Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
RB: I see myself as hopefully a husband and father, pursuing a career in sales and cheering on the [Mississippi State] Bulldogs from home.
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Q: What does a day of practice look like for a specialist?
RB: We will go out on the field earlier than everyone else, get loose and work on anything that we want to work on. So, the first 30 minutes is technique stuff. Then, we will do a script with our coach. We do some mod-game reps and then we will do a script with the field goal because I hold for the field goal team also. After that, we are just there doing certain drills, like a skill drill and waiting for our periods in practice to come up. If it is a punt period, we go out and we do our thing for 10 minutes or so and then come back and just keep on working on things to improve and get better.
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Q: Video games or Netflix?
RB: I would have to go with Netflix. I really like the series Outer Banks. I thought it was a pretty good one.
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Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Starkville?
RB: I have to say the small-town atmosphere. It was something that kind of surprised me when I moved here, just how small of a town it was. Now, I know that it is a very unique place, and I really like it a lot.
Â
Q: When did you decide to be a punter and why did you choose that position?
RB: My dad actually punted when he was in college. He was the punter for Texas Tech. As early as I can remember, instead of going out and throwing the football we would punt. I kind of knew how to do it since I was a little kid. My senior year in high school, nobody was the punter for our school team, so I decided to go out and give it a shot and here we are now.
Â
Q: What is your first football moment that you can remember?
RB: Probably pee wee football. We were like 10 or 11 years old and we had a kid that was 205 pounds. Everybody else was like 105 pounds, you know, pretty small. I remember I had to do kind of a driving off the ball drill. I was the defensive lineman and he was the offensive lineman. I got whopped pretty good.
Â
Q: What went through your head when you first jogged out of the tunnel onto the field for your first game at Davis Wade Stadium?
RB: It was awesome. The first time I ran out of the tunnel, I could just tell that this is exactly where I wanted to be. [We have] an amazing fan base [at Mississippi State] and it was just so much fun. It was really, really special.
Â
Q: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
RB: One thing I like to do is reading through bible verses. Either in the hotel or on the bus before going [to the stadium].
Â
Q: What is one country that you want to visit in the future?
RB: I would say Australia. One of my good friends that I met on my journey of playing college football is from Australia. I have always been interested and would love to go there and visit with him and see everything down there. I would probably spend two weeks and just see as much of the country as I can see. I would love to see an Australian-rules football game. I have seen a few on TV and I think watching it in person would be cool. It is an interesting game. They pass with their feet. It seems like it is a mix between football, soccer and a little bit of rugby.
Â
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
RB: I see myself as hopefully a husband and father, pursuing a career in sales and cheering on the [Mississippi State] Bulldogs from home.
Â
Q: What does a day of practice look like for a specialist?
RB: We will go out on the field earlier than everyone else, get loose and work on anything that we want to work on. So, the first 30 minutes is technique stuff. Then, we will do a script with our coach. We do some mod-game reps and then we will do a script with the field goal because I hold for the field goal team also. After that, we are just there doing certain drills, like a skill drill and waiting for our periods in practice to come up. If it is a punt period, we go out and we do our thing for 10 minutes or so and then come back and just keep on working on things to improve and get better.
Â
Q: Video games or Netflix?
RB: I would have to go with Netflix. I really like the series Outer Banks. I thought it was a pretty good one.
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Players Mentioned
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