Notre Dame added a major defensive piece to its 2023 recruiting class as five-star linebacker Drayk Bowen committed to the Fighting Irish live on CBS Sports HQ. Bowen, a junior at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana, committed to Notre Dame over Auburn and Clemson.
When it came down to deciding, being close to home and family was the deciding factor for the blue-chip linebacker. “Being gone during summer for so long, I got closer with my brother and sister, and I wanted to stay close to home and see them grow up,” Bowen said.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Bowen boasts great speed and strength that should allow him to play multiple positions at the next level. The industry standard 247Sports Composite ranks Bowen as the No. 28 player in the nation and No. 2 linebacker in his class.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu provided the following scouting report on Bowen:
Physically strong player who is a weight room warrior. Multi-sport athlete who excels on the baseball diamond also. Has great play speed. Pursues and closes to the football with effort and has explosiveness off the ball and as he closes to his target. Can play a couple of different roles as he has been used as a stand-up edge rusher or he can shift further outside and play out in space over a slot. Might not be as long as schools want in an edge-rusher so he projects more as a traditional outside backer who can blitz off the edge when needed. We have not seen him asked to drop back and cover as much so that is a part of his game that needs to be furthered evaluated although he looks like a good enough athlete to do that.
Bowen is one of the headliners in Notre Dame’s standout 2023 recruiting class that ranks No. 3 in the nation. He joins defensive lineman Brenan Vernon as 5-star commits in the six-man class. The Fighting Irish also have a top-five recruiting class in 2022, which would be the first such class since 2013 — the group that immediately followed the team that made it to the BCS Championship Game.