Peyton Bowen finally did it.
Eleven days short of the one-year anniversary for his verbal commitment to Notre Dame, the five-star safety ditched the Irish. But rather than committing to Oklahoma, the school that had been pursuing him heavily, Bowen committed to Oregon on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day early signing period for the 2023 class.
Bowen had been committed to the Irish since Jan. 1. However, the Ducks came on strong in the final days.
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Notre Dame made its last in-person pitch Thursday during an in-home visit with the Bowen family. That visit, which included head coach Marcus Freeman, safeties coach Chris O'Leary, defensive coordinator Al Golden and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, nearly didn't happen after Oregon made a run at Bowen during an in-home visit the previous day. Oklahoma made the final in-home visit with Bowen on Saturday.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect made a visit to Oregon on Oct. 22 for its 45-30 victory over UCLA. Bowen also made game visits to Oklahoma (three times), Texas A&M and Notre Dame since the start of September.
Rivals ranks Bowen as the No. 2 safety, No. 2 player in Texas and No. 10 overall in the 2023 class. He received a rankings boost amidst a stellar senior season at Denton (Texas) Guyer in which he registered 77 tackles (56 solo), five pass breakups and five interceptions.
As of 5 p.m. EST Wednesday, Bowen had not yet signed with Oregon. Details on The Insider Lounge.
Bowen’s decommitment comes about four months after Notre Dame’s previously top-ranked commit, Keon Keeley (No. 20 at the time), left the class in August. Keeley since committed to Alabama earlier this month after also officially visiting Florida and Ohio State during the season. Notre Dame hasn't signed a Rivals five-star defender since linebacker Daelin Hayes in 2016.
In addition to Keeley and Bowen, Notre Dame has also lost 2023 pledges from four-star cornerback Justyn Rhett, four-star running back Sedrick Irvin Jr., four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige and four-star running back Dylan Edwards. Four-star running back Jayden Limar hasn't announced his decision yet, but the Irish no longer consider him committed to the program following an official visit to Oregon.
Despite Bowen's departure, ND still has two safety commits — three-star recruit Adon Shuler and four-star recruit Ben Minich. Three-star athlete Brandyn Hillman can also contribute to the position.
Notre Dame's other 24 commitments all signed Wednesday.
Bowen's younger brother, Eli, is a four-star cornerback in the 2024 class. Although the Irish have also been recruiting him, the younger Bowen has not been determined to follow Peyton's previous path. The two visited several schools together while Peyton was committed to Notre Dame, including stops at Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas A&M.
As the No. 10 overall player, Bowen would have been the highest Rivals-ranked safety to sign with the Irish during the Rivals era (since 2002). Notre Dame has only signed five other top-100 safeties during that time. Kyle Hamilton (No. 75) was the last in 2019.
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