Owens played college football at the University of Oklahoma from 1946 to 1949, under head coach Bud Wilkinson. He played a year of pro football in 1950 and then was a college assistant coach for six years under the legendary Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky and Texas A&M University. According to legend, after the 1956 season, when the Washington Huskies were looking for a head coach, Bryant indicated to reporters that Owens "will make a great coach for somebody some day."