Before he ever steps foot on campus, Nick Bowers already holds a special place in Penn State recruiting lore.

Bowers first appeared on the Nittany Lions' radar soon after James Franklin and his coaching staff were hired. One of Franklin's staffers was Terry Smith, a former Penn State player and Temple assistant who, while still with the Owls, had tried to lure the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end to Philadelphia. When Smith returned to coach at his alma mater, he made sure to keep Bowers' contact information handy.

Problem was, Penn State still faced NCAA scholarship restrictions and there were other positions higher on the priority list than tight end. While there was early mutual interest, PSU hesitated before extending an offer.

Then in July, Bowers visited Penn State with his Kittanning (Pa.) Senior High teammates for a seven-on-seven competition and put up one of the best all-around performances at any camp of the summer. It added to Bowers' allure, no doubt, but it didn't change the fact that PSU's scholarships were still limited.

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"I talked with Franklin after [the seven-on-seven tournament] and he just told me that they were more in need of linemen and that they had restrictions on their scholarships," Bowers recalled. "But he told me that if the sanctions came off, they'd offer."

Franklin followed through. When the NCAA restored PSU's full allotment of scholarships in September, it was Bowers whom Penn State reached out to first. It was around 3 p.m., right before football practice when Bowers called Franklin to hear the news, cementing his place as the first prospect to earn a Penn State scholarship after the restrictions had been completely reduced.

"We think he has a chance to be really good," Franklin said once Bowers signed his letter of intent in February. "He can be an in-line tight end and be physical in the running game. He can flex out in passing plays. He came to our seven-on-seven camp and did a really, really good job."

There was, however, another issue.

When Bowers visited for that seven-on-seven tournament, he was verbally committed to Pittsburgh. He originally chose the Panthers in January for a couple of reasons, but mostly because of the bond he had formed with Paul Chryst and his coaching staff.

But once Chryst left to take the head coach position at Wisconsin, and Pitt replaced him with former Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, Bowers began to second-guess his decision. Contributing to his uncertainty was the fact that he finally held an offer from Penn State.

"I had a pretty solid relationship with the old Pitt coaches because they recruited me first and I talked to them a lot," Bowers said. "But once they left, I already had a pretty good relationship with Coach Franklin."

Before making a final decision, Bowers decided to take official visits to both schools the following January. Pitt came first, Penn State second, and then the final call.

A self-described "outdoors guy," Bowers took into account the location of each campus. "That was a big part," he said. "Being in a city and being at Penn State is a completely different atmosphere."

The schools' academic offerings were also critical. "My guidance counselor and me did a couple tests online to see where my interests were, and forestry was one of the main things," Bowers said. "Penn State is one of the best schools in the country for forestry."

During his official visit, he ate breakfast with the head of PSU's forestry department and spent additional time with his future coaches and teammates. Upon leaving, he thought to himself, "I was more comfortable up there than I was at Pitt, so I just said this is what's best for me."

The day after Bowers left campus, Franklin and Bob Shoop followed up with an in-home visit to see him and his family. When they left, it was with his verbal commitment. One week later, Bowers signed on the dotted line in order to make it official.

"I was pretty relieved when I signed my letter of intent," he said. "I mean, I liked the recruiting process to a certain point, but, I don't know. I didn't like all the attention really all that much, so I was just relieved when I got it all over with, and I'm really happy now that it's almost time to go up."

Because the possibility of that once didn't exist.