FAYETTEVILLE -- Darius Bowers apparently likes the color purple, lots of purple.
The starting quarterback of the Fayetteville Bulldogs the past two seasons signed a letter of intent with Central Arkansas during a ceremony Wednesday at Bulldog Arena. Like Fayetteville, UCA's dominant color is purple and the Bears play on a purple and gray striped field at Estes Stadium in Conway.
Bowers had a handful of offers, including an invitation to walk on at the University of Arkansas. But he chose to take a full scholarship offer from UCA, which dropped to 6-5 last season after going 10-2 in 2017.
"It was a big decision for me, but the coaches at UCA are genuine and they stuck with me," Bowers said. "We're playing Hawaii and Western Kentucky next year and we're building a solid program. I'm ready to go."
Fayetteville coach Billy Dawson said the Bears are getting a true standout student-athlete in Bowers, who threw for 2,991 yards as a senior with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
"UCA hit the jackpot with this guy," Dawson said. "Darius is exactly what you look for from a leadership position such as quarterback. He is a true warrior and exemplifies what a Fayetteville Bulldog is both on the field and in the classroom, a tremendous young man of character and work. I'm proud to have been part of his journey."
Bowers missed three games with a knee injury while leading Fayetteville to a 36-35 victory at Bryant in September. But Bowers returned for a conference showdown at Bentonville, which the Tigers won 24-20 despite a strong performance from Bowers.
Fayetteville then won five consecutive games before being eliminated 28-25 by Bryant in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs. Fayetteville finished 10-3 after going 7-5 with Bowers at quarterback in 2017.
Three of Bowers' high school teammates also signed Wednesday to continue their football careers in college.
Carsten Johnson and J. Beasley both signed with Ouachita Baptist while Keondre Conley decided on Arkansas Tech.
Johnson piled up 107 tackles as a senior after being limited by a knee injury in 2017. He had two sacks and caused four fumbles. Conley had eight sacks while Beasley provided senior leadership in the defensive backfield for the Bulldogs. Beasley had 76 tackles and an interception.
"Carsten is a leader, both athletically and academically," Dawson said. "Carsten will no doubt do something special with his life. He will be a great fit within the culture that Coach (Todd) Knight has built at OBU.
"J. is a man of honor who will also be a great fit at Ouachita. I am proud of J. and how hard he has worked to put himself in position for the opportunity of playing college football."
Dawson emphasized from the podium Wednesday how much Conley has grown and matured during time with the Purple Bulldogs.
"Keondre has been a pleasure to watch grow both as a football player and as a young man," Dawson said. "Arkansas Tech got a good one."
Fayetteville's Coleman Johnson signed with Idaho during the early signing period in December.
Sports on 02/07/2019