Demarkcus Bowman told The Clemson Insider Thursday the recent death of his grandfather is why he has decided to leave the Clemson football program.

The freshman running back put his name into the transfer portal Thursday, meaning he can have schools contact him about transferring to their program.

“The closest family I had up here was my grandfather,” Bowman told TCI. “He was the only reason I came to Clemson. I came so my grandfather could come and watch me play, but he passed away as the season started.”

Soon after his grandfather died, Bowman began to feel uncomfortable at Clemson and it became obvious to him he wanted to be closer to home.

“I love Clemson. It is a really great program with absolutely great coaching,” he said. “Stuff just hit me hard and I would just rather go to school and get my degree somewhere closer to home. There was not anything I disliked or nothing.”

The former 5-star running back from Lakeland, Fla., played briefly in the top-ranked Tigers’ two games this season. Bowman had nine carries for 32 yards. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry, and he did not score a touchdown.

Bowman was a unanimous five-star prospect coming out of Lakeland High School, where he rushed for 5,081 yards in three years, including an 11.4-yards per-carry average and 71 touchdowns during his career.

Last year, he was a first-team postseason All-American by Sports Illustrated and USA Today after he averaged 142.7 yards a game, including nine games of at least 100 yards, while scoring 24 touchdowns and helping his team to a 12-1 record.

–photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics

A great gift for any Tiger fan. Just one of many great items available from Clemson Variety & Frame