ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been a bit greater than every week since five-star security Peyton Bowen shocked the recruiting world throughout what turned a tense 24 hours for the now-Oklahoma signee.
Bowen, who performed at Denton (Texas) Guyer, entered the early signing interval dedicated to Notre Dame however was lengthy thought of a possible flip to Oklahoma. He ultimately ended up with the Sooners — signing with coach Brent Venables’ program at 11:58 p.m. on Wednesday night time — however not earlier than first committing to Oregon in surprising style.
Peyton Bowen chooses Oregon.
The five-star Denton Guyer security flips from Notre Dame to the Ducks. pic.twitter.com/597uOxGqFn
— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) December 21, 2022
Now, Bowen, who’s in Orlando, Fla., this week for the Under Armour All-America Game, is able to set the file straight about how he ended up as arguably the largest story of the early signing interval.
“So I went into the week very indecisive just because there were a lot of things tying into my decision, obviously,” Bowen mentioned. “And so whenever I got down to it, I made the decision off of just what I thought was best for me and my family at that certain time and I was kind of in that mindset of trying to please everyone. I was trying to please my brother, my mom, my dad. I was trying to do too many things and not think about what I wanted.
“And so whenever I got home that night, I kind of just thought about it and was like, ‘What’s best for me?’ And not, ‘What’s best for everyone to try to make everyone happy?’”
Bowen mentioned his dad and mom by no means explicitly mentioned they didn’t need him to signal with Oklahoma however that a few week earlier than the early signing interval they inspired him to “look at these” different choices.
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Bowen talked with the Notre Dame coaches in mid-December about his recruitment to allow them to know the place issues may be trending. Several members of the Fighting Irish workers, together with head coach Marcus Freeman, travelled to Denton for an in-home go to on Dec. 15. Bowen mentioned he nonetheless thought of the Fighting Irish heading into signing day, however the plan for him to decide to Oregon was clearly already in place.
“That’s what the game plan was for a while. My dad was like, ‘You should go to Oregon,’ stuff like that. And I was kind of like, ‘Yeah, yeah I see that.’ And my little brother, he was like, ‘That’s my dream school,’” Bowen mentioned. “So it was those things that kind of tied in, where I was just trying to make everyone happy. And so I was just like, ‘Yeah, let me just do it.’”
At his signing day ceremony on Wednesday, Bowen first placed on a Notre Dame hat earlier than shaking his head and buying and selling it in for an Oregon one. He has since apologized to each fan bases on social media for the way in which he dealt with the state of affairs and has vowed that the expertise is “something I will learn from.”
Respect my Decision simply need peace for me and my household
Boomer Sooner ⭕️U!! pic.twitter.com/ERfET7lIyG— Peyton Bowen (@PeytonBowen10) December 22, 2022
After the ceremony, he didn’t talk a lot with the Oregon workers as coaches awaited his paperwork. He mentioned he exchanged texts with them about his thought course of however indicated he was in any other case “just kind of in my own space.”
Later that night time, he gained some readability whereas sitting in his bed room and occupied with his future.
“I was like, ‘This is my decision. It’s not anybody else’s. It’s not what they want. It’s what I think I want,’ sort of thing,” he mentioned. “And if I go somewhere and it was for my parents, then I’ll be blaming them for what happened and I’d rather be blaming myself for the decision I made.”
Asked about how a lot of an element NIL was in his choice, Bowen acknowledged that the chance to revenue off of his identify, picture and likeness is vital to him. He in contrast his state of affairs to that of Jackson Arnold, his teammate at Guyer High School and a five-star quarterback signee at Oklahoma.
“For Jackson, a quarterback is 10 times more marketable than any defensive player,” he mentioned. “That’s just that simple. So whenever I think of NIL, I think about trying to market myself as early as possible so that I can try to get my money so if anything happens, it puts myself in a better position. So NIL was and is a priority, but it’s not the biggest thing because if I play good, I’m gonna get NIL anywhereI go. So it really wasn’t that big.”
But he additionally mentioned that NIL didn’t consider his choice to particularly decide to Oregon.
“They weren’t gonna give me anything. I wasn’t gonna be like some special player,” he mentioned. “It was just gonna be the same things (as everyone else), like having Phil Knight there to endorse Nike and stuff like that. Just those NIL opportunities.”
Bowen mentioned he despatched his papers into OU two minutes earlier than midnight on the night time of Dec. 21. He then FaceTimed Arnold to share the news along with his former — and future — teammate: “I’m Boomer, I’m Boomer.”
Arnold didn’t attend Bowen’s signing day ceremony and as a substitute streamed it through Instagram dwell. The two are shut mates, and Arnold very publicly recruited Bowen for a lot of the previous 12 months.
But regardless of their friendship, even Arnold didn’t know what was occurring final Wednesday.
“I was honestly really shocked,” Arnold mentioned of Bowen choosing up the Oregon hat. “The OU hat wasn’t on the table, so I really thought he was about to pull a pump fake and reach under the table and grab the OU hat. And when he picked Oregon, I just — I don’t know. It kind of surprised me. It really did.”
Arnold mentioned he and Bowen spoke for about an hour that night time. Throughout the method, he did his greatest to strike a fragile steadiness between making his pitch and giving his buddy some house.
“After recruiting a kid like that for a year, I mean, he’s one of my best friends, you don’t push it too much,” Arnold mentioned. “Like the other night, I’m hanging out with him, I don’t ask him on and on and on where he’s going to school or (convince him) why he should go to Oklahoma and stuff like that.
“After a while, it gets old. So I try not to push his buttons all the time.”
Last Thursday morning, Venables despatched out a cryptic tweet with a poker chip that hinted at a possible flip coming down the pipeline. In actuality, Bowen’s paperwork was already signed, however he had but to make his choice public.
Asked concerning the symbolism of his tweet at this week’s Cheez-It Bowl, Venables admitted he was simply having a bit enjoyable with the entire drama.
“I’ve got a million things going on. I don’t know, I had a little time on my (hands). We had a little break,” Venables mentioned with a chuckle. “The players went home for a few days. It was boredom, I guess, and excitement.”
With Bowen now formally signed, Oklahoma at present has the nation’s No. 5 class within the 247Sports Composite — its highest rating since 2010.
In Bowen, Venables mentioned his protection is getting a well-prepared defensive again who’s used to enjoying at the very best stage of highschool soccer.
“Peyton brings a tremendous skill set, dynamics, instincts, speed, just great, great instincts, natural feel for the game,” Venables mentioned. “He is going to bring a wealth of experience at a very high level from a competition standpoint.”
And for Arnold, it makes the transition to varsity a smidge simpler.
“I have a roommate now,” he mentioned with a smile. “Most kids don’t have your teammate going to college with you. Most kids don’t have two five-stars on the team going to the same school. So it’s definitely a relief just going up there with somebody that I know.
“It’s definitely nice to have a familiar face.”
Bowen mentioned he’s at peace along with his choice and indicated that his dad and mom are too, including that each of them understand that Oklahoma is one of the best match for his or her son. He didn’t imply to change into a signing day story, however he’s “really happy” within the aftermath.
“Everyone was like, ‘You did everything right,’” Bowen mentioned. “‘You did what was best for you and that’s all you can say. You took a terrible situation and you made it OK.’”
(Photo: Grace Raynor / The Athletic)
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