Measurables are everything in recruiting.

Because of all the variables, projecting a high school kid’s performance at the next level is difficult. Can they adjust to the speed of the game? Will they work hard? What’s their ultimate ceiling?

Measurables help college coaches keep things simple. If a kid is the right height and weight, if he has the right frame, that’s one less thing to worry about. If he doesn’t, it’s one more question to add to the list.

It can lead to players without much of a high school track record getting a chance, and to players who have broken every record in the book at the prep level getting overlooked.

After a decade as a high school football coach in Southeast Idaho, Travis Hobson knows that as well as anybody.

“You’ve seen recruiting, it’s a measurables game,” Hobson said. “The linemen better be 6-foot-3 or better, 280 pounds or better, they better have 7-foot wingspans. The odd things you have these recruiters come in and measure...I’ve had recruiters measure their handspan. They bring tape measures with them.

“I get it, these guys are recruiting to feed their families, and you’re going to put the very best product on the field that you can to win games.”

Hobson’s been guilty of that too. When his assistants wanted to bring Jovan Sowell up to varsity before his sophomore year, Hobson looked at the wide receiver and thought, huh, I don’t know about that one.

Sowell’s listed at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, which might be a bit of an exaggeration. With his slight frame, soft speaking voice and big smile, he looks like he could still be that sophomore, just called up to the varsity for the first time.

“Towards the end of my junior year, I was kind of worried, because not many coaches were texting me back, and I was like, ‘Oh, well, maybe it’s just my size,’” Sowell said. “Of course, size does matter, honestly. I wish it didn’t.”

But over three years of coaching Sowell, who signed a letter of intent to play football at Idaho State on Wednesday, Hobson quickly learned that the measurables didn’t come close to telling you everything about his star wide receiver.

On the field, they couldn’t capture his speed, or his preternatural ability to stop and start, his effortless acceleration that leaves defenders looking foolish. They don’t capture his quiet confidence, his desire to succeed, his leadership.

On a team retreat before his junior year at Century, Sowell stood up before the group. The Diamondbacks were electing captains, and Hobson gave his players the opportunity to campaign for the honor.

But Sowell didn’t want to be a captain. Instead, he got up and made the case for his friend Brayden Wright, who did, but was reluctant to take the stage.

His teammates listened, naming Wright a captain.

”I thought that was one of the most powerful moments I’ve ever seen from a 17-year-old kid,” Hobson said. “He had the courage to get up and say, I don’t want to be a captain, but I think this guy should, let’s vote for him. I thought that was a pretty cool moment. It illustrates a lot about his character.”

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There are plenty of waypoints on Sowell’s road to Idaho State, but an underappreciated one was on Sept. 24, 2016, when Michael Dean ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns for the Bengals in a win over Sacramento State.

Dean went on to a long and successful career as a slot receiver at ISU, where he ranks fifth all-time in receiving yards and fourth in receiving touchdowns — and he did it all at 5-foot-6, 150 pounds.

ISU head coach Rob Phenicie loves to pooh-pooh the idea that the Bengals will ever find Dean’s successor — “People tell me all the time, ‘Hey, I’ve got the next Mikey Dean for you,’ and I’m just like, ‘No you don’t,’” Phenicie will say, shaking his head and laughing at the presumption.

But there’s some truth to the idea that, having seen a smaller receiver rip up the field for four years, Phenicie and ISU are more likely to look past the measurables than other schools would be.

The Bengals offered Sowell last summer, and were his only Division-I offer.

”I have to give Phen a lot of credit for looking past the paper and just looking at the player,” Hobson said. “It was always fun to watch Michael Dean out there on the practice field and on the game field and be able to turn to Jovan and say, ‘Hey Jovan, that guy right there.’ For sure, Mikey Dean’s success has helped a lot of smaller-statured guys get looks.”

After establishing himself on the Century varsity as a sophomore, Sowell had his own breakout game as a junior, scoring five touchdowns in an early-season matchup against Idaho Falls. He caught screens and zoomed down the sideline to the house. He broke tackles. On multiple occasions, he just ran by the entire Tigers defense, leaving Century quarterback Nate Manning the easiest 50-yard deep bombs of his life.

A week later, his 77-yard punt return touchdown against Pocatello keyed a comeback rivalry win. Against Burley, he dusted the Bobcats’ defense so badly on a screen-pass touchdown that he was able to high-five teammate Drew Gunter, running beside him, before crossing the goal line.

”I think people underestimate Jovan,” Hobson said after the Idaho Falls game. “He’s short. We’ve got a bunch of 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 receivers, and I think teams key on them. Jovan’s sneaky, and when you walk out here, you’re five-and-a-half feet tall, people tend to think you’re not a ballplayer. But he’s a ballplayer.”

He finished the season with 84 catches for 1,462 yards and 17 touchdowns, with the first and last numbers leading all 4A players and his yardage total behind only Gunter. He was named first-team all-state in 4A, and first-team All-Area by the Journal.

Now Sowell will join Gunter at ISU.

”(Signing) was something special and something I definitely won’t forget,” Sowell said. “Just super grateful that I had the opportunity to sign. Recruiting has been crazy with COVID and everything, but I’m just grateful that I still got the opportunity to become a Bengal.”

Hobson chuckles now as he remembers Sowell’s tour of destruction his junior year. For the big Century coach, watching teams across the state learn the same lesson that he had about his diminutive receiver was a joy.

”You look at kids when they come in as freshmen, and you always make assumptions about what they’re going to turn into,” Hobson said. “We always thought Jo was extremely athletic, but you can’t help but be drawn into his size. ... I’ll look back fondly on Jo as that proverbial David vs. Goliath. He’s certainly not the biggest guy on the field, but you better watch out for him.

”I’ll have stories to tell about Jovan for years, in terms of don’t let the perceived limitations limit you. He never did.”