INDIANAPOLIS — Seth McGowan has spent most of his adult life trying to put the worst night of his life behind him.
The price of that mistake has been high. McGowan spent three months in jail, a year away from football entirely, another year unable to play in games and then three years zig-zagging the country, moving from Kansas to New Mexico to Kentucky in an effort to prove he’s more than the mistake that will likely follow his name forever.
McGowan finally reached the culmination of that journey on Saturday. Frustrated by how far he’d fallen after a solid season at Kentucky, McGowan felt a sense of relief when the Colts picked him in the seventh round, taking a chance on a talented running back who has a devastating word attached to his name.
Felon.
“I had a brief season in my life where unfortunately I got away from that, and it cost me everything,” McGowan said. “But ever since that day, I’ve done everything that I can, with every fiber in my body, to prove that’s not who I am.”
McGowan was once a four-star recruit out of Mesquite Poteet High School in Texas, a promising back who produced 571 total yards as a freshman at Oklahoma.
He seemed destined for a quick trip to the NFL.
Until it all came crashing down. McGowan was arrested in April of 2021 for entering a Norman, Okla. apartment with two teammates, including one who had a gun, and stealing marijuana, jewelry and drugs. Originally charged with felony counts of robbery, conspiracy and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, McGowan ended up pleading guilty to felony larceny of a person at nighttime.
Oklahoma cut him loose.
The legal process kept him away from a football return for a year. Another year spent at Texas College, an NAIA school, was spent only on the practice field, never playing in games. There were times McGowan had to wonder if he’d blown his chance at the NFL.
But he kept looking for opportunities, turning six games at Butler Community College into a full season at New Mexico State, then a full year at Kentucky, finally producing 725 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, as well as 19 catches for 126 yards, with the Wildcats.
McGowan is a big, powerful back, a 6-foot, 223-pounder who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds.
He thought he’d proved himself to the NFL, only to spend nearly the entire draft waiting to hear his name called.
“I’m excited to prove everybody wrong,” McGowan said. “Going this late in the draft was definitely unanticipated … but everything happens for a reason, and I’m just ready to make everybody pay that didn’t pick me.”
McGowan’s Oklahoma arrest likely played a role in his fall.
He’d tried to answer the questions NFL teams had about the arrest, tried to prove to them that he shouldn’t be defined by that night in Norman.
“I just wanted them to know, that’s never who I was, who I’ve been my entire life,” McGowan said.
But the details are difficult to overcome.
Indianapolis had to decide how it felt about McGowan’s past.
“I mean look, I’m a second-chance guy,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “Like, how long are you going to keep punishing him for it?”
McGowan had an advocate in the building at West 56th.
Indianapolis running backs coach DeAndre Smith recruited McGowan during Smith’s time at Texas Tech, built a relationship with McGowan that gave him conviction about the player’s desire to rebuild the life he almost let slip away.
Smith helped open the Colts’ eyes, Ballard was sympathetic to second chances and Midwest area scout Tyler Hughes spent a lot of time trying to figure out who McGowan is.
“We did our due diligence with (McGowan’s arrest),” Hughes said Saturday. “Seth made an unfortunate decision early on in his career. He learned from it, and this kid was out of football for two years. His love of the game never swayed, and this kid fought to get to where he is today.”
When McGowan’s fortitude started to weaken, he leaned on his faith and the people around him, two sources of support that he believes he let slip before his arrest.
“I’ve always known, it just became more of a catalyst, more of an immediacy, something that can’t ever be put on the back burner,” McGowan said. “Definitely something that has to be the priority of your life, at the front of your ship, and as long as you do that, you’ll never be sailed wrong.”
The Colts decided they believed in McGowan’s road back.
Enough to give him a chance to compete for a backup job behind Jonathan Taylor, a role that has remained unfilled since Zack Moss left in free agency.
“He adds a real physical element at running back,” Ballard said.
McGowan’s road back to where his career was headed has finally reached the NFL.
By now, the Colts’ new running back knows that doesn’t mean the road he’s been traveling has reached its end.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Seth McGowan is a felon, why the Colts took a chance on him in NFL Draft
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
