Luke Bowanko (born June 13, 1991) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

center. He was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

College career

A 3-star offensive tackle recruit, Bowanko committed to

to play college football over offers from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt. At Virginia, Bowanko redshirted as a freshman in 2009. In 2010, he appeared in five games as a backup right guard. Bowanko won the starting right guard job as a redshirt sophomore in 2011, starting all 13 games. He moved to center for his redshirt junior year in 2012, starting all 12 games. As a redshirt senior, Bowanko was named a team captain, and moved to left guard to begin the season; however, due to injuries along the offensive line, he returned to center after four games, where he started for the remainder of the season. Overall, Bowanko played in 42 games during his college career, starting 37 consecutive games from 2011-2013 (20 starts at center, 13 starts at right guard, and four starts at left guard).

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Bowanko was selected 205th overall in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft by the

. The pick used to select Bowanko was traded by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in exchange for Blaine Gabbert. He made his first career start at center in week three against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. Bowanko started out the 2016 season on PUP after suffering a torn labrum and was activated to the active roster on December 10, 2016 prior to Week 14.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 2, 2017, Bowanko was traded to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He played in all 16 games in 2017, starting one at left tackle in place of the injured Ronnie Stanley.

New England Patriots

On April 4, 2018, Bowanko signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. On September 1, 2018, Bowanko was released by the Patriots.

Washington Redskins

Bowanko signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

on November 5, 2018, following season ending injuries to starting offensive linemen Brandon Scherff, and Shawn Lauvao.

Detroit Lions

On June 10, 2019, Bowanko signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowanko, Luke 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia American football centers Virginia Cavaliers football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players Washington Redskins players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players People from Clifton, Virginia Players of American football from Fairfax County, Virginia Players of American football from Annapolis, Maryland