Part of Fitz Hill's final recruiting class, Owens attended San Jose State University, the only school that offered him an athletic scholarship. Owens redshirted his freshman year and first played in 2005, under new head coachDick Tomey. In 11 games played as a freshman, Owens had 35 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, and a forced fumble. As a sophomore in 2006, Owens led San Jose State to the 2006 New Mexico Bowl title and played 13 games with 50 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 9 passes defended. As a junior in 2007, Owens was selected All-WAC second-team and led the conference with six interceptions; he also had 75 tackles and 9 passes defended. In his senior season of 2008, Owens had 68 tackles, one interception, 9 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles.
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons
In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Owens in the third round, 90th overall. As a rookie, Owens played 16 games with 6 starts. He had 29 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 2 interceptions. In 2010, Owens again played in 16 games and had 3 starts. He had 40 tackles, 1 pass defended, and 3 interceptions. In the Falcons' to eventual Super Bowl XLV champions Green Bay Packers, Owens had 7 tackles, a pass defended, and a quarterback hit. In 2011, Owens played 14 games with 2 starts. He had 27 tackles, a sack, 3 passes defended, a quarterback hit, 2 tackles for loss, and 8 special teams tackles. In 2012, Owens played in 13 games with one start. In the regular season, Owens had 17 tackles, 4 passes defended, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and 5 special teams tackles. In the postseason, Owens played in the, a 28-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Owens had one tackle, on special teams.
Owens signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2013. He played 12 games with 2 starts and had 51 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, 2 quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, and six special teams tackles. On December 17, the Browns waived Owens.
The following day, Owens signed with the Miami Dolphins. Owens played in the Dolphins' season finale, a 20-7 loss to the New York Jets, and had a tackle on special teams.
On March 21, 2014, Owens signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the 2014 season, Owens played 11 games with 3 starts for the Chiefs and had 33 tackles with 4 passes defended.
