Lasting legacy: Hewitt-Trussville football team honors Brock Bowman’s memory with award

Trace Wilbanks heard about Brock Bowman’s tragic death when he moved to Trussville in the fifth grade.

He heard about it from other students, and he learned of the impact Bowman made on the community. Now, seven years after moving here, Wilbanks will honor Bowman by being the first Hewitt-Trussville football player to wear No. 70 since Bowman drowned while inner tubing in the Cahaba River on Aug. 8, 2013.

The Hewitt-Trussville football team this year announced the inaugural Brock Bowman Award, which will be presented annually to a player that exemplifies the pillars of the program: family, compete, humility, finish and character, all built on a base of faith while striving to leave a legacy at Hewitt-Trussville High School.

“That’s the kind of guy that Brock was,” said Hewitt-Trussville tight ends coach Jake Garrett, who assisted with the offensive line when Bowman played. “Without us even realizing that these were the pillars of our program, that’s kind of a description of Brock. Just in my mind, at least, Brock Bowman would have been one of those guys to get the Brock Bowman Award. He was a legacy guy.”

For the last several years, Garrett discussed with head coach Josh Floyd how to honor Bowman. Retire the number? Former quarterback Jay Barker’s No. 11 is the only retired Hewitt-Trussville number. Have a player wear it? Something else? Floyd came to Trussville the year after Bowman died.

“I learned a lot about him just from some of the kids,” Floyd said. “I got to know (his mother) Kathy over the years. Everybody talks about how fun he was to be around. It sounded like everybody loved him. People really enjoyed hanging out with him, and it sounds like he was a really encouraging kid to his friends.”

One of Garrett’s coaching duties has been managing the jerseys. After Bowman died, understanding that many of the Hewitt-Trussville players knew him, Garrett did not give Bowman’s No. 70 jersey out. After two or three classes graduated, his discussions with Floyd began about how to honor Bowman’s legacy.

“I’m just so glad that we have the ability to do this, to make this possible, and for Brock to still be able to be reaching people and touching lives is really cool,” Garrett said. “I’m really just glad to be a part of it, honestly.”

The award was blessed by Bowman’s mother, Kathy, who spoke to the football team in April when it was announced that Wilbanks, a senior offensive guard, had earned it.

“The award means a lot to me, and to be able to represent someone who made such an impact on not only HTHS football but the community in general,” Wilbanks said. “It’s hard to put it into words how honored I am. I just hope I can be half the person that Brock Bowman was. He was such a prominent figure in everyone’s life and loved to make people laugh, and that’s what I want to strive to do and represent him well.”

Wilbanks had worn No. 60 prior to this upcoming season.

“The number had no meaning to me, but I wanted to bring meaning to it and leave a legacy, which is one of our pillars of our football program at HTHS and something we talk about often,” Wilbanks said. “However, I think representing Brock by wearing No. 70 will leave a way bigger legacy at Hewitt-Trussville for me than anything I could’ve done wearing No. 60.”

Kathy Bowman said the creation of the Brock Bowman Award means that her son will never be forgotten.

“I know it’s hard for people to understand,” she said. “When you lose a child, you don’t want them forgotten. People go on with their life. People are having more birthdays or getting married or having babies, and your child doesn’t. They go on with their life, but you don’t want your child to be forgotten. It’s just a huge honor, and I’m truly touched that they would think of Brock to keep his memory alive and keep his legacy alive. It’s pretty amazing.”

Garrett said that Wilbanks was a clear choice for the award, that he is a student-athlete who is going to take the honor seriously.

“I’ve always tried to be a leader on our team,” Wilbanks said. “Especially going into my senior year, being a leader to me means encouraging my teammates and trying to bring them along and encourage them to finish in drills or practices or anything they do. That’s what Brock strived for as well and was always there to bring his teammates up and encourage them.”

In the previous nine home openers since Bowman’s death, his mother would sit restlessly in the Hewitt-Trussville Stadium bleachers, waiting to see a player wearing No. 70. It would have been heart-wrenching. She said she thought around the 10th anniversary of her son’s passing, next year, she would just ask to have the No. 70 retired.

“This is even better than that,” she said. “Oh, my goodness. What an honor. I’m sure I’ll cry now when I see that boy run out with No. 70, because I think it’s a great thing. It’s in honor of him now, in memory of him.”