For the first half of Ohio State’s 2017 regular season, Branden Bowen looked poised to be a starter on the Buckeyes’ offensive line for the next three years.
Bowen started the Buckeyes’ first six games of 2017 at right guard, and performed well. Even though he began the year practicing as an offensive tackle, and wasn’t widely projected to win a right guard competition that also included Matthew Burrell, Demetrius Knox and Malcolm Pridgeon, Bowen showed what he could do as both a run blocker and pass protector on Ohio State’s offensive line, and his future looked bright.