Bills Ink Bowen

Bills secure tackling machine from Iowa State, inch closer to signing all picks

You can officially add fifth-round pick Alvin Bowen to a suddenly stacked linebacker corps.

Bowen was all over the field in college at Iowa State. He led the Cyclones in tackling during his final two seasons and finished his career with 364 stops and nine sacks.

But his performance wasn't just inclined to team accolades. Bowen was named to the Big 12's first team. His 155 tackles as a senior led the nation and rank fifth in conference history.

Now he'll vie for a backup spot behind odds-on starters Paul Posluszny, Angelo Crowell and Kawika Mitchell.

"I've left my expectations wide open for this training camp," Bowen said. "But I have a sense of urgency and focus and I'll be ready to fill whatever role the team needs me to fill."

Buffalo's linebacker corps - an Achilles' Heal in 2007 - is now a team strength. Behind a solid trio, Bowen joins Keith Ellison and John DiGiorgio. Initially, Bowen will probably be used as an asset on the Bills' special teams units.

Buffalo still has four draft picks left to sign, as training camp rapidly approaches. Top three picks Leodis McKelvin, James Hardy, Chris Ellis and sixth-round running back Xavier Omon still need to sign contracts to get to camp on time.