Lincoln’s Bogan, bigger and stronger, primed for big year in Abes’ offense
Despite Lincoln High School’s football team not being able to hold organized, in-person team activities in recent months during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, junior Chance Bogan has already established himself as an important piece of the Abes’ roster.
Bogan, who transferred from Wilson after the first semester of his sophomore year, is considered a three-star recruit by 247sports.com. Listed at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, he holds offers from Washington, Arizona State, Colorado, Nevada and Tennessee. He spent a couple months in school at Lincoln before the pandemic hit in the spring.
“It was family vibes,” Bogan said. “I love the coaching staff. They made me feel like I’m at home, like I’m part of the family.”
In his sophomore year at Wilson, he caught 53 passes for 549 yards and a pair of touchdowns. While Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto only knew Bogan as an opposing player that Lincoln’s defense would need to try to slow down last year, he was impressed with his skillset.
“We said, ‘We can’t let this guy beat us,’” Matsumoto said. “We just saw his talent. Since he’s been here, he’s been great. The two months I was able to interact with him daily in morning workouts and fifth-period weight training, he got along well with his teammates and was working hard. He’s been pretty engaged, comes to meetings.”
While there have been no team practices and no pads, Bogan has spent plenty of time catching passes at local football fields from sophomore Abes’ quarterback Gabarri Johnson this offseason and staying active with Ford Sports Performance training center.
“He perfects his craft,” Johnson said of his new teammate. “He takes pride in running his routes, catching the ball. Always taking care of his body, things like that. He’s always trying to get better.”
Sophomore Jayden Wayne, another tight end on the roster, said Bogan has strong hands and runs quality routes. Bogan said he models his game after former UW star Hunter Bryant — something in between a tight end and receiver.
“That’s what I tell colleges,” Matsumoto said. “He has the potential to be someone like (Bryant). He’s physical, he can block, you can flex him. He can run routes and can be super athletic.”
Bogan said he’s been working hard in the weight room during the offseason and currently is around 212 pounds — a marked difference from his freshman year, when he came into high school around 185.
“I’ve gotten a lot stronger, faster,” Bogan said. “My routes look a lot better. Working at FSP, just being over there molded my game to be way better than it was last year.”
With Julien Simon announcing he’ll forgo the spring high school football season to enroll early at USC, Bogan figures to instantly become a major focal point of Lincoln’s offense during the 2021 spring season (the WIAA recently pushed football and other traditional fall sports to the spring).
“I feel like I’m going to get a lot of yards, a lot of catches this season,” Bogan said. “I think I’ll be one of the main targets.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
