After months of fixed rumors and rumblings surrounding his future, all of the Peyton Bowen hypothesis can lastly be laid to relaxation.
The longtime Notre Dame commit is not headed to Eugene, Oregon. He’s headed to Norman, Oklahoma.
Bowen signed with Oklahoma on Thursday, all however placing an finish to a rollercoaster recruitment that can go down as one of the wildest in historical past. Since committing to Notre Dame on New Year’s Day, the five-star safety had taken over a dozen unofficial visits to Oklahoma, and it had lengthy been obvious that a technique or one other, Bowen’s dedication to the Irish wouldn’t stick. However, on Dec. 21, he flipped his dedication to Oregon in a bombshell choice that took the complete recruiting world by whole shock. Yet he did not signal with the Ducks on the primary day of the early signing interval, and his conversations continued with the Oklahoma employees behind the scenes.
In the tip, Bowen’s reticence to signal with Oregon proved what had lengthy been a widespread perception: his coronary heart was in Norman in any case. His pledge to the Ducks lasted scarce greater than 24 hours.
Bowen is the No. 24 general prospect and No. 2 safety in the 247Sports Composite, and he joins a surging OU class that now options twenty-four commits. With his addition, Denton Guyer is answerable for the Sooners’ prime pledges on each side of the ball, as Bowen turns into the highest-ranked defensive commit and Jackson Arnold has lengthy been Oklahoma’s top-ranked offensive commit. Perhaps no peer relationship impacted Bowen’s recruitment greater than his bond with Arnold, who had lengthy been attempting to sway his highschool teammate and finest buddy to Norman. Bowen had favored the Sooners early in his recruitment, however the dynamic shifted when Lincoln Riley and his employees abruptly give up recruiting Bowen final fall.
As the curiosity from Riley and firm ebbed, Bowen constructed a sturdy bond with the employees at Notre Dame, notably then-defensive coordinator and present head coach Marcus Freeman. Bowen gave his verbal to the Irish on the day of Freeman’s head teaching debut, a 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. However, it wasn’t lengthy thereafter that Brent Venables and Brandon Hall got here calling. They hosted Bowen for a number of visits all through the spring and summer time — and through one of these visits, they prolonged a scholarship supply to his youthful brother Eli Bowen, a four-star cornerback in the category of 2024. With Arnold working fervently as a peer recruiter, the elder Bowen’s affinity for Oklahoma continued to develop. Despite sturdy pushes from each Texas A&M and Alabama, it was OU that started to make severe noise beneath the floor in Bowen’s recruitment. Nevertheless, summer time gave method to fall with no tangible developments, though he continued to make common visits to Norman. He attended 4 of Oklahoma’s six house video games, most lately taking in the Sooners’ Nov. 19 matchup with Oklahoma State. Yet it briefly appeared as although none of it might matter when Bowen shockingly picked Oregon on the primary day of the early signing interval.
Today, the seemingly interminable course of all culminates in a watershed dedication for the Sooners. Bowen is now the eighth top-100 commit in the category for Oklahoma, and he is far and away this system’s highest-ranked defensive again signee in the trendy recruiting period. 247Sports regional recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks tasks the 6-foot, 185-pound safety as a future Day 2 choose in the NFL draft.
“Owns the requisite height and frame with an athletic build,” Brooks writes. “Versatile playmaker for high-caliber Texas Class 6A power. Ample snaps in all three phases at receiver, multiple spots in the secondary, and kick/punt returner. Excellent ball skills. That combines with awareness and instincts to create a ball-productive playmaker. Shows route-running acumen and hands-catching technique at receiver. Also displays terrific body control and adjustment abilities in contested situations. Sudden athlete with lateral mobility and great initial burst and acceleration. Dangerous as a center fielder thanks to ability to cover territory and make plays on the ball. Shows functional athleticism to man up when needed.
“Turns and locates very well. Outstanding tester. Two-sport athlete with above average track times relative to age (11.31 100, 22.71 200 as a sophomore). Extensive experience in high-leverage situations and against great competition. Helped team to a Texas 6A D-II state runner-up finish as a junior. Good long speed on the field but can still find another gear at the top end, which track data reflect. Occasionally provides the big hit, but right now more effort tackler who will need to add strength and arriving pop with more consistency. Through junior year, looks like one of the nation’s top safeties in the 2023 class. Projects a potential high-major impact player in the future, with immediate special teams value.”
With the addition of Bowen, the Sooners’ 2023 class jumps all the way in which from No. 8 to No. 5 in the 247Sports group recruiting rankings. Moreover, after failing to signal a five-star defensive recruit in six consecutive courses, the Sooners have now signed two such gamers in the 2023 cycle, as they managed to land each Bowen and elite Missourian edge rusher PJ Adebawore. Former standout linebacker Caleb Kelly, a member of the category of 2016, was beforehand the newest five-star defender to signal with Oklahoma.
put up credit score to Source link