Cowan is the younger brother of Kentucky defensive tackle Tavion Gadson and carved out a role in November as injuries started to pile up. However, a big third year (35 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks) led to an opportunity at FCS Gardner-Webb. The Northern Kentucky native — and Willie Rodriguez‘s high school teammate — will play defensive end/outside linebacker at UK. Keeping the defensive end on the roster through the coaching transition was a very big deal. Deone Walker was the last Kentucky defensive lineman to finish a season with double-digit tackles for loss back in 2023.