Nov 4, 2023; Greenville, North Carolina, USA; East Carolina Pirates wide receiver Chase Sowell (5) reacts to his catch against the Tulane Green Wave during the first half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
East Carolina transfer wide receiver Chase Sowell was set up to visit four other schools after his visit to Iowa State to find the right home for himself and his family.
But those visits were canceled, and Sowell made his commitment official on Saturday.
“Going in, obviously, I was looking for that football situation – that was the main focus – somebody that could develop and elevate my game,” Sowell said. “Honestly, the whole staff cared for me… it just felt like it was family.”
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound wide receiver was a big target out of the transfer portal – especially for Iowa State, which was looking to find replacements for a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
Sowell had visits scheduled to Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Florida and SMU before visiting Ames.
“The football layout for what I wanted was obviously to get more targets and to get the ball in my hands in different ways,” Sowell said. Jayden Higgins is kind of the guy I watched.”
The East Carolina wideout caught 34 passes and collected 678 yards with the Pirates in 2024, good for 19.9 yards per catch.
“I see myself in his game,” Sowell said of Higgins. “Just the way they used him and his versatility in their offense was very intriguing to me. That was one of the things that I was really looking for – being used more (in a more) versatile way, whether that was the slot, catching option routes, or stretching the field in any type of way. Those were key things that I was looking for, and Iowa State had pretty much everything.”
In Ames, Higgins finished the year with 87 receptions and 1,183 yards as the former Eastern Kentucky transfer became a Cyclone great during his pair of seasons at Iowa State.
Sowell, who has two years of eligibility remaining, sees a similar path to what he wants to accomplish.
Higgins, Noel and returning Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht were present for Sowell’s visit, too.
Show me WHO you’re with, and I will show you WHERE you’re at!! There’s some BALLERS in this picture!!! @SowellChase @JaydenHiggins3 @RoccoBecht @NoelJaylin13 @HunterSowell10 @mrsksowell @CycloneFB pic.twitter.com/8wX2dD3M69
— Sowell 33 (@Sowell33) December 14, 2024
“Me and Jayden are kind of the same in the sense of recruiting too,” Sowell said. “He came in with two years left and was coming from Eastern Kentucky- so he was coming from a ways away so I was asking him how he liked it and how he transferred into it.
“They gave me the rundown on how things go, the offense and kind of just how all of the coaches are,” Sowell said.
Sowell began his collegiate career as part of Deion Sanders’ first team at Colorado before transferring to East Carolina last year.
“(Higgins, Noel and Becht were) just saying that all of the coaches do a great job of caring for us as people,” Sowell said. “That was a key thing for me, being looked at as a person before a number.”
It helped make the choice complete for Sowell, and he’s solidified himself as a Cyclone for 2025.
“When I heard those type of things coming out of their mouths, I knew it wasn’t fake,” Sowell said.
