By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

After an offseason full of turmoil followed by rumors, it appears Lynn Bowden is finally getting a fresh start.

A source close to Bowden confirmed on Thursday that the athletic standout is finalizing a transfer to Warren Harding High School after spending the last two years at Liberty High School.

One area football coach in attendance at the Jack Arvin Football Classic in Niles said he saw Bowden “leading the [Harding] team on to the field” at a local camp last week. Multiple coaches are speculating the transfer is a done deal.

The move was triggered by the dismissal of former Liberty football coach Kevin Cylar in late March. Bowden, along with many of the Leopard football players, protested the school’s decision not to renew Cylar’s contract and were suspended as a result of an organized walk-out.

When news that Cylar wasn’t going to be returning to coach the Leopards first surfaced, Bowden told the Vindicator “I’m not happy at all.”

At the time, Bowden also said he would consider leaving Liberty if Cylar was not re-hired.

“I would do anything to get coach Kev his job back,” Bowden said in March. “It’s crazy.”

Cylar was not re-hired and Chet Allen was named football coach in May. That’s when rumors of Bowden’s future began swirling.

Bowden, who played running back and quarterback during his time at Liberty, was unable to be reached for comment on Thursday. However, a source close to the situation did confirm that Bowden has been working out with the Warren Harding football team for the past week.

The source also said that Bowden has been “living with his mother in Warren for a while now.”

Bowden, who will be a junior in the fall, rushed for 1,888 yards and threw for 751 in his first season at quarterback last year. He played running back as a freshman.

He averaged more than 10 yards per carry and accounted for 38 touchdowns, leading the Leopards to a 10-2 record. Liberty was eliminated by Ursuline in a Division V regional semifinal at Warren’s Mollenkopf Stadium.

Bowden has already received a scholarship offer from West Virginia University. He’s attending a football camp at Ohio State University this weekend.

Warren Harding is coming off a 3-7 season, following a 4-5 record two years ago. If indeed Bowden joins the Raiders, he’ll have to transition to the higher level of competition Harding plays in Division I.

Raiders football coach Steve Arnold did not return a phone call requesting comment on Thursday.

Bowden is also a skilled basketball player, earning second-team all-district honors last season. He averaged 21.3 points per game for the Leopards.

Football practice officially begins Aug. 1 and regular season games begin the week of Aug. 24.