Barnegat’s Manny Bowen Commits to Penn State

Rising Barnegat senior outside linebacker Manny Bowen, one of the most highly-sought after recruits in New Jersey, announced on Twitter Saturday that he has verbally committed to Penn State.

Bowen committed during a visit to Happy Valley on Saturday with his younger brother, Josh, a rising junior. Bowen boasted 32 FBS offers after seeing his recruitment take off following a strong junior season for the Bengals. He started his career at Southern, transferred to Central as a sophomore and then transferred to Barnegat before last season.

A versatile talent who also played running back and wide receiver for Barnegat, Bowen was selected as the Class B South Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches and was a Shore Sports Network second-team All-Shore pick after finishing with 78 tackles, 15 for a loss, and recording 2.5 sacks and had 22 quarterback hurries. He also intercepted four passes, forced four fumbles and had three fumble recoveries. On offense, Bowen caught 25 passes for 479 yards and seven touchdowns, and also ran for two touchdowns.

Bowen helped the Bengals win a school-record 10 games, the Class B South title, and advance to their first NJSIAA sectional final in program history. He joins Barnegat offensive lineman Sam Madden (Wisconsin) as the second FBS commit from the Bengals' senior class, and he is the latest elite talent from the Shore Conference to commit to the Nittany Lions.

Penn State, which has a new head coach in James Franklin, currently includes defensive end Garrett Sickels (Red Bank Regional) and kicker/punter Chris Gulla (Toms River North), who were both first-team All-Shore picks in 2012. The Nittany Lions' incoming class includes Southern tight end/wideout Mike Gesicki and Manalapan wide receiver Saeed Blacknall, a pair of four-star recruits.

Bowen joins Manasquan tight end/linebacker Tanner Cowley (Virginia), Red Bank Catholic linebacker Jamie Gordinier (Miami) and Madden among the FBS commits for the Shore Conference Class of 2015 thus far this offseason.