Bowers: What we know

First, some news:

Spoke with Dr. Larry Bowman this morning. Bowman is Clemson's team orthopedist who in January performed arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in Bowers' right knee.

Bowman said the report of a bone-on-bone condition in Bowers' knee is "totally inaccurate." He aaid Bowers had a small defect in the covering surface of his knee -- "a microfracture in a very small area" -- but he said it was a minor issue that Bowers should have no problems recovering from.

"It is not unusual," Bowman said. "That kind of procedure is done all the time, and people do fine. You treat it, and everyone does well."

Bowman said he saw Bowers work out the weekend of the spring game. He said Bowers looked "great" with "no swelling or pain."

"He was basically normal," he said.

Bowman said he was "shocked" that Bowers went undrafted in last night's first round.

"He has a good knee," he said.

-- This is the same knee Bowers injured in 2009 against Coastal Carolina, though the first injury was different from the one he suffered last season against N.C. State (his 2009 injury was described as a PCL sprain at the time).

The knee issues weren't quickly resolved after the 2009 season, though. We picked up information during the spring of 2010 that indicated Bowers' knee was still hurting him a great deal.

Last July, Bowers told me he was "stupid" for returning after just two missed games in 2009. He wasn't ready to return, and he said he risked a career-ending injury by rushing himself in to play the final four games.

"Coaches were telling me to sit out and take it day by day," he said then. "I should've sat some more games."

-- And that brings us to last season. After his Pro Day earlier this month at Death Valley, Bowers revealed he suffered a torn meniscus in the ninth game against N.C. State.

The Clemson camp did an excellent job of keeping the injury under wraps not only from the media and the public, but from people who are very close to Bowers.

A few days before the Meineke Car Care Bowl, we picked up information that Bowers had practiced on a very limited basis since the South Carolina game, and that Clemson was trying to keep an injury secret knowing Bowers was likely to jump to the NFL. We didn't get 100 percent confirmation on it at the time, but when the news broke soon thereafter that Bowers was having knee surgery, it served as a confirmation of what we picked up in late December.

-- Our indications are Clemson's coaching staff didn't think Bowers' injury was serious late last season. Based on what they were told by the team's medical staff, the injury was not that bad -- and not bad enough to sit him.

-- Regarding last night, you can take two views:

1) A cluster of teams gave Bowers a passing grade at the medical re-check earlier this month in Indianapolis, but the growing fears and speculation about his knee caused some apprehension. Then came yesterday's report about the bone-on-bone condition. When you combine that stuff with the fact that this draft is heavy on defensive linemen, you get the perfect ingredients for a pronounced slide.

2) Thirty-two teams passed on a guy who not long ago was regarded as a possible No. 1 pick. Something is seriously wrong with his knee.

Not sure where I stand, quite honestly. I just know I feel awful for the kid.

If you know Bowers even on a superficial level, you feel horribly for him. He's a good kid who's been through a lot with the death of his father last summer. He's a genuinely nice, warm guy.

When Bowers declared, he probably felt strongly that he'd be a Top 5 pick in the draft. And last night, he had to sit through the first round without hearing his name called.

Tough. Just really tough. A lot of people are hurting for him right now.

LW