McGowan’s numbers that day bear that out. Now a safety with the Patriots, then a senior rover in Maine’s 4-4 defense, McGowan had a game-high 12 tackles (nine unassisted, two for losses) and 1 1/2 sacks, as the Black Bears held Mississippi State scoreless for the final three quarters and scored a late touchdown for the upset.
“He was the best player on the field that day,’’ Cosgrove said.
But McGowan realized much earlier that he could play at the next level.
“Actually, it was my freshman year,’’ said McGowan, who went largely unnoticed by Division 1-A recruiters after he suffered a knee injury that cut his senior season at Lincoln High in Jersey City to four games. “I had a coach named Torrian Gray and he played with the Minnesota Vikings for a few years. After my freshman year, he told me that if I kept working hard and kept playing the way I was playing, and studied a little tape, he thought I would be able to play at the next level.
“When he told me that, I just began working even harder, trying to stay on that right path and make it to the NFL.’’
McGowan’s work ethic, his relentless style of play, and his determination to overcome any obstacle helped him endure a painstaking path to Foxborough. It was pockmarked by one painful injury (ankle, last Sept. 19) after another (Achilles’ tendon, Nov. 6, 2006) and another (knee, Jan. 10, 2006) that landed him on injured reserve three times during his four seasons with the Chicago Bears, who signed him as a rookie free agent in 2005. He signed with the Patriots in May.
“I think the thing that’s kept him from getting more notoriety in the league has been his injuries,’’ Cosgrove said. “He had an ACL in high school and he had one with us. He played with it through the Appalachian State playoff game in 2002. He wouldn’t come out of the game. He kept playing. It was one of those Willis Reed things.
“He had an Achilles’ and ACL in the NFL, but he came back from all of it. He’s just amazing. He’s so determined and so focused.’’
