Bowers attended Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in Bamberg, South Carolina, where he was a three-sport athlete in football and track.

He played as a defensive end and running back for the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Red Raiders high school football team.

[3] As a senior in 2007, he led the team to an 11–2 record by recording 97 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 14 sacks on defense, while on offense, he rushed for 1,219 yards and scored 19 touchdowns, he caught two touchdown passes, averaged 40 yards per kickoff return, and blocked seven kicks.

Rivals.com dubbed Bowers the top defensive end prospect of the high school classes 2005–2009, describing him as "the closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith".

[15][16] He remained at the top of most mock draft projections over the course of the season, especially after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who was widely considered to be the No.

Along with Nick Fairley, Marcell Dareus, and Patrick Peterson, Bowers was still listed among the best prospects available as of January 2011.

[19] Bowers was selected lower than expected due to medical issues, including off-season knee surgery.

Throughout his entire Buccaneer career Bowers was often injured; earning him a place on the season-ending injury reserved list.

In his five seasons in Tampa Bay Bowers played in 53 games, starting in 10 of them, contributing 69 tackles and 7 quarterback sacks.

[37][38] Bowers was named the defensive line coach at South Florida in 2020, joining former Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott's inaugural staff.

His father, a gospel singer and guitarist with the Legendary Singing Stars, died on August 8, 2010, in Augusta, Georgia, at the age of 51.