Iowa State wide receiver Chase Sowell has ‘no hard feelings’ as he returns to Colorado

AMES — The term “crossroads” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far-reaching consequences.”

And Iowa State’s budding star at wide receiver, Chase Sowell, has met those mettle-testing moments his entire life.

First, going into high school, he wasn’t big enough. Then, as a freshman football player, he was told he wasn’t good enough. Now — after transferring to Iowa State from East Carolina — Sowell’s not merely glimpsing light at the end of his crucible-filled tunnel.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior is fully basking in it.

“Putting in the hours and putting in the work, it finally feels good to kind of get, you know, a good result out of something,” said Sowell, who has caught nine passes for 204 yards and a touchdown in the past two weeks. “(I can) look back and be like, ‘Oh, I could have given up here, I could have given up there, but I didn’t. I just kept going the course and it worked out fine for me.”

Now Sowell will get to experience a full-circle moment when the No. 22 Cyclones (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) face Colorado (2-4, 3-3) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) in the looming shadows of the Rocky Mountains.

That’s because as a freshman he proudly donned a Buffaloes jersey — until head coach Deion Sanders took over the program and told him and many of his teammates to “jump into the portal” so he could fully reshape the downtrodden program.

“No hard feelings,” Sowell said. “I was young. I was banged-up a little bit and he made his decisions. I just had to live with that, and it made me the man I am today.”

That’s a big target with increasingly explosive speed. And that latter element of his game didn’t all come naturally. Sowell’s worked assiduously to fully active his quick-twitching muscle fibers, putting sleds and executing Olympic-style lifts to perfect his physique.

It’s hard but he’s tough. Just ask former Ohio State and Arizona Cardinals star receiver David Boston, a family friend who has become a mentor.

“Chase is the consummate professional,” said Boston, who amassed 1,598 receiving yards for the Cardinals in 2001, which still is tied for 30th-best in NFL history with former Houston Texans star Andre Johnson. “He’s very mature for his age. He listens well and wants to do well, and I’m glad things are kind of turning around for him a little bit after kind of a little slower start with the injury (in fall camp) and everything.”

Let that last word — everything — sink in. Sowell’s topsy-turvy ride as a Buffalo, Pirate and now Cyclone almost never began.

“Chase,” his father, Ronnie, said, “was a late bloomer.”

How late? The standout first-year Cyclone stood about 5-6 and weighed around 120 pounds going into high school, where he met his first major crossroads.

“He was just saying, ‘Well, Im just gonna play baseball and I’m gonna quit football,’” Ronnie Sowell said. “I was like, ‘Listen, Chase, just play your ninth-grade year and we’ll see.’ So he ends up playing his ninth-grade year and they kind of put him on defense because he wasn’t real fast, real big or anything like that. So he ended up leading the team in interceptions.”

That led to another year of football — and then a growth spurt finally hit.

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“He put on, like, 50 pounds in two years (and) he grew to 6-3,” Ronnie Sowell said. “I was just like, ‘Whoa.’”

That’s what Colorado’s coaches are likely saying now when they watch Chase Sowell — the former cast-off — on film.

“What you’ve seen in the last two weeks is that guy just continuing to come on,” ISU head coach Matt Campbell said. “He’s made significant strides as a football player. I think he’s playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

That’s because he’s earned every once of it. Sowell didn’t receive his offer to Colorado until the final game of his senior season in high school. Then, within one year, he was told to leave. Sowell enjoyed his time at East Carolina, but yearned to reclaim Power Four status.

So yet another crossroads emerged in the form of a dazzling “dream.” That’s because his mother, Keisha, also starred at Florida as a three-time All-American and national title-winning soccer player. So when the Gators offered Sowell a scholarship, his parents exulted — until he called to tell them he’d picked ISU. Their hearts momentarily sank, but they’re full now.

“Chase was born in Gainesville, Florida,” Ronnie Sowell said. “I was like, ‘Man, this is great.’ Once he got the (Florida) offer everybody was texting me, calling me — everybody thought it was a slam dunk, including me. But it’s like Coach Campbell, right? He can go a lot of other places, but Coach Campbell wants what he wants, and he loves Ames, Iowa. It is such a blessing.”

So Chase Sowell plotted his own destiny, and this week it just happens to twist and turn back to Boulder.

“Those obstacles have built me into what I am,” he said.

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