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Georgia Tech Football Transfer Profile: WR Kyric McGowan

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 28: Kyric McGowan #8 of the Northwestern Wildcats lines up against the Michigan State Spartans during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium on November 28, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 28: Kyric McGowan #8 of the Northwestern Wildcats lines up against the Michigan State Spartans during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium on November 28, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) /
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We keep rolling on in our Georgia Tech Football transfer profiles. Next up is Northwestern wide receiver transfer and Dalton, Georgia native Kyric McGowan. He  comes to Atlanta with one year of eligibility after playing four seasons with the Wildcats.

High School Recruitment:

Coming out of Dalton High School in the 2017 recruiting cycle, McGowan was a three-star composite recruit per 247Sports’s composite rankings. He was considered a top-1200 player nationally and a top-75 running back in the country.

During his recruitment, McGowan received 23 reported scholarship offers, mostly a mixture of FBS and FCS offers. Out of those 23 offers, six of them were from Power Five programs in Duke, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest. He would end up committing to Northwestern in the summer of 2016 before signing in February of 2017.

What he did at Northwestern:

Once enrolling at Northwestern, the Wildcats coaching staff moved McGowan from running back to wide receiver. The Dalton native would see playing time as a true freshman, playing in three games, recording two receptions for 12-yards. Unfortunately for McGowan, had he been part of the 2018 recruiting class he would’ve had the opportunity to keep his redshirt status as the four-game rule was effective starting in the 2018 season.

That being said, McGowan in 2018, McGowan saw his role grow with the Wildcats, collecting 16 receptions for 283-yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had three carries over the course of 14 games that season for 34-yards. In 2019, his role changed quite a bit as he actually finished the season with 15 more carries than receptions. He posted a 13 catch season for 102-yards while carrying the ball 28 times for 177-yards. This past season, McGowan had his best season with the Wildcats becoming a premier offensive weapon for Pat Fitzgerald’s program in a Big Ten West championship season. He posted 34 receptions for 366-yards while also amazing 141 rushing yards on 24 carries. He finished the season with 58 total touches for 507-yards and a score. Those 507-yards were the second most yards of scrimmage for any Wildcat last season.

Also worth noting in McGowan’s career is his role as a return man. Over his four years in Evanston, McGowan recorded 22 kick returns for 531-yards, an average of 24.1 yards per return. This past season, McGowan returned a majority of the kickoffs for the Wildcats with seven returns for 178-yards.

Over his career on the shores of Lake Michigan, McGowan showed great versatility. The Wildcats were able to plug him in throughout their offense whether it was on the outside, in the slots or in the backfield. Not to mention his abilities to return the ball. His 677 all-purpose yards this past season is a pretty good indication of that versatility.

What to expect from him on The Flats:

As purely a wide receiver, McGowan at 5-foot-11 and 205-pounds has good size to go along with good but not blazing speed. Additionally, he does have the ability to shift into a second gear once he hits the open field. He runs good crisp routes that allows him to gain solid separation from defensive backs and has a nice clean mechanics when it comes to catching the ball, very fluid and reliable. You won’t see him dropping many passes.

Now, beyond just his receiving abilities, McGowan, first and foremost brings versatility to the Jackets offense. We just discussed at above and theoretically, he could see similar roles on The Flats. That being said, I wouldn’t expect to see him take a ton of hand offs thanks to the Jackets depth at running back but it wouldn’t be shocking either to see him get some attention on jet sweeps and other designed wide receiver run plays. In terms of his abilities on special teams, his abilities could definitely be of use. While the Jackets had success with Jahmyr Gibbs returning kicks this past season, there does come a point where putting Gibbs back there to return kicks is probably not worth the risk of injury. A returning duo on kickoffs of McGowan and Dontae Smith would be a formidable duo for the Jackets.

For the most part, expect McGowan to be a notable part of the Jackets passing game. It’s hard to say if he’ll be their No.1 wide receiver or even No.2 but expect him to find his way into being one of the Jackets top three or four receivers this upcoming season. In a year where the Jackets passing game should be a bigger part of the offense that still means he would be posting some quality numbers. But also even when McGowan doesn’t have the ball in his hands, he’s the type of player that an offense has to be aware of due to his versatility and skill set. He’ll help create mismatches on offense.

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