McGowan was born on November 1, 1999, in
Dalton, Georgia, where he grew up. He attended
Dalton High School, where he played
football,
baseball, and
track and field. As a
senior in football, he was team captain and helped lead the team to the number one Georgia 6-A State ranking. He was an honorable mention all-state honoree and was first-team all-region and all-area. A three-star recruit, McGowan committed to play
college football at
Northwestern. In 2017, he was one of 13 true freshmen to see regular season game action, appearing in 11 games and recording five
receptions for 51 yards. As a
sophomore in 2018, he recorded 16 catches for 283 yards and scored two touchdowns, while playing in all 13 games. As a
junior, he was a starter in all nine games in which he appeared, and finished the year with 13 receptions for 102 yards, in addition to 177 rushing yards and one score. In 2020, he appeared in eight matches and made 34 receptions for 366 yards. Near the end of the 2020 season, McGowan announced that he was going to transfer to
Georgia Tech for a super senior season after all players were given an extra year of eligibility due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In his lone season at Georgia Tech, he played in 11 games, 10 as a starter, and tied for the team lead in receptions with 37, while placing third on the team with 467 yards and scoring seven touchdowns. His touchdown total led Georgia Tech and placed eighth in the conference. At the end of the year, he was named academic all-conference. ==Professional career==