Alvin Bowen is a young man in a hurry. He’s got a lot of catching up to do.

The Buffalo Bills’ outside linebacker didn’t have much of a rookie year, suffering a season-ending right knee injury during training camp. After months of rehabilitation, he’s back and eager to showcase his ability.

“I feel great. The knee is good,” Bowen said Wednesday after organized team activities. “I haven’t had any setbacks, so I’m just ready to get in there and pick up where I left off.”

Bowen impressed prior to tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. With Angelo Crowell limited with a bad knee, the fifth-round draft pick got a lot of snaps with the starting defense at strong-side linebacker in training camp last summer.

In addition to playing special teams, it looked like Bowen was going to have an opportunity to contribute on defense. But optimism turned to despair when his right leg buckled underneath him during a non-contact drill.

He knew instantly that something was terribly wrong.

“It was tough,” said Bowen, who had surgery shortly afterward. “It was my first time I had ever been hurt the whole season. The rehab was long and more challenging mentally than physically, but I dealt with it. I worked really hard to get the knee stronger so I could be ready for OTAs.”

Even though Bowen didn’t play much last year, he believes he’s a better player because of all the film study he got in during his recovery. He added more muscle and weight to his 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame. He still looks like he hasn’t lost the athleticism and quickness that caught the Bills eye before the 2008 draft.

But he is still a mystery to the Bills, who won’t know if he is back to 100 percent until training camp begins.

“We’re going to find out what Bowen can do coming back off that knee,” Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. “When the pads go on it’s a little different because things happen a lot faster than when you’re running around in your underwear. What he displayed last year was the athletic skills to possibly play that position. But can he do more of that? We’ll have to see.”

Fewell has tried not to put too much on Bowen’s plate this spring. He has spent more of the voluntary workouts on the weak side, where the mental demands aren’t as great as they are on the strong side.

But Bowen is expected to move back to the strong side in training camp and compete with returning starter Keith Ellison and rookie Nic Harris for the top spot on the depth chart.

“I like what I’ve seen from Alvin so far,” Fewell said. “He’s bigger and stronger. Mentally he’s better than he was a year ago. But it’s still a question in my opinion because he hasn’t made any contact. We’re going to see if he has accelerated to where he can handle both the physical and the mental challenge to get it done in fall camp. I’m hoping that he’ll bring the skills to compete for playing time.”

Playing time is an objective, but Bowen will have to make the team first. That in itself will be a task with new arrivals such as Pat Thomas and Harris, the Bills’ fifth-round draft pick and the guy projected to eventually replace Ellison as the strong-side starter.

But now is not the time for Bowen to think about where he fits on the roster. His focus is solely on learning the defense and getting better at executing his assignments.

“The best thing somebody told me was to just go out there and play, do everything the coaches tell me to do and let God work everything else out,” Bowen said. “This is a game of opportunity, and when the opportunity comes you have to be ready to take advantage of it. I’m just trying to work hard and be ready when I’m called on and play to the best of my ability.”