Deerfield Beach star Bryce Gowdy dies just weeks after signing with Georgia Tech
Deerfield Beach senior wide receiver Bryce Gowdy has died, less than two weeks after signing with Georgia Tech.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn told the Miami Herald. “Everybody that has ever met him or ever touched him is in shock. Can’t believe it.”
Glenn said he was at an Under Armour All-America Game practice when Gowdy’s mother called him to tell him her son passed away.
“His mom told me this morning that he stepped in front of a train,” Glenn said, while driving back from Orlando where the Under Armour All-America Game is held.
According to a Broward County Sheriff’s Office press release, Gowdy, 17, was struck by a freight train at approximately 4:06 a.m. in the area of Southeast Fourth Avenue and Southeast 10th Street in Deerfield Beach.
Gowdy was rushed to Broward Health North, where he died, the BCSO press release stated.
Glenn said his last conversation was about how he was going to make sure to be in town to see Gowdy off to Georgia Tech. Gowdy was scheduled to head to Georgia Tech later this week, Glenn said.
Gowdy’s last tweet came Sunday, when he posted a photo with the caption that read, “Family matters, can’t wait to get to the ATL soon!”
Glenn said he plans to have a team meeting with counselors present for the players, whom he called a really close-knit group.
Glenn said he initially broke down and cried upon hearing the news from Gowdy’s mother.
“He was a great player that kind of truly exemplified of what our definition was for a kid to be a Beach Boy, who grew up in our program,” Glenn said. “Great student, top in his class ... one of the top players in the country.”
A consensus 4-star recruit, Gowdy went by the nickname, “Simba,” and had 12 catches for 97 yards in 12 games as a senior. He wasn’t about padding individual stats, though.
“He was a great kid,” Glenn said. “The hardest working and most caring people. He really cared about others. He cared about others’ success, team success more so than his. ... All-around great kid.”
Glenn said Gowdy was hanging around the program as an eighth-grader and that he was extremely close with him. For the past three years, he played varsity football for the Bucks after playing junior varsity as a freshman.
At 6-2 and 190 pounds, Gowdy was rated the 54th best receiver in the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings.
What made him so good was competitiveness, Glenn said.
“He had an elite competitive nature about him,” Glenn said. “... He just wanted it so bad.”
Glenn said Gowdy had been struggling with some things, but the hope was it was behind him.
“I feel bad like maybe I kind of let my guard down,” Glenn said. “I thought he had gotten through the worst part, and that’s something that really tears away at my heart.”
A 2019 study found that Florida is sixth among states for greatest number of railroad crossing incidents between 2014 and 2018, with 462. Of these 462 accidents, nearly 16% resulted in a fatality and 25% resulted in injury.
Miami Herald Reporters David J. Neal and Rob Wile contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Deerfield Beach star Bryce Gowdy dies just weeks after signing with Georgia Tech."
