Notre Dame 2023 OLB Target Drayk Bowen Seeks ‘Balance’ In His Recruitment
Drayk Bowen nearly had as many carries in his junior season opener as he had during his entire 13-game sophomore season. That had been a long time coming for the four-star class of 2023 outside linebacker.
“For two years I’ve been waiting for this moment to be able to play offense and defense,” Bowen said. “It was awesome to be able to score my first touchdown as a starting running back. It was great to be able to help my team.”
Bowen had 13 carries for 63 yards. He scored on a 19-yard run up the middle to push Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean High School’s first-quarter lead to 14-6 over crosstown rival Merrillville High, the state’s No. 7 team across all divisions according to MaxPreps.com.
Andrean held a 21-20 lead at halftime thanks in large part to Bowen’s play on both sides of the ball. He broke up a pass to force a turnover on downs with Merrillville working into Andrean territory late in the second quarter.
“I thought four verts was coming,” Bowen said. “I saw the receiver slow up out of the corner of my eye. That’s when I knew the ball was going there and had to make a break on it. I was able to get there in time and make the play.”
Merrillville successfully game planned to prevent Bowen from making more plays in the second half. The Pirates ran to the opposite side from which Bowen was lined up on. They threw screen passes that way too. That scheme combined with two blocked punts, both off the foot of Bowen, led to a 47-21 Merrillville victory.
Bowen knew beating a team of Merrillville's caliber wouldn’t be easy. He was simply glad for the opportunity to try to do so and for giving the favored Pirates a scare for as long as the 59ers did.
“It was awesome to be able to get back and play a competitive game against the top team in the state.”
As for Bowen’s recruitment, he narrowed down his top five choices to Auburn, Clemson, Indiana, LSU and Notre Dame earlier this month. The southern flare isn’t coincidental. Bowen is also a big-time baseball player. Fitting in nicely on the diamond is just as important as being viewed as a prominent piece on the gridiron for Bowen.
Notre Dame assistant baseball coach Rich Wallace has been in contact with Bowen for over 18 months. The Irish football coaching staff hadn’t really ramped up its recruitment of Bowen until this year. Now Bowen talks with Wallace or head coach Link Jarrett and football assistants Marcus Freeman and Chad Bowden weekly.
“Coach Freeman really just asks how everything is going at home and how football is going,” Bowen said. “He asks if I need any tips for playing linebacker. With Coach Bowden, it’s a lot of the same stuff as Coach Freeman but he also asks to send him my links so he can send them to the other coaches.”
Bowen has not set a timeline for his decision. The No. 2 overall outside linebacker in the country according to Rivals has plenty of time for that. He said he is going to get through his visits to his top five this fall and then go from there.
Bowen is scheduled to attend back-to-back Notre Dame games. He’ll be in attendance for the USC game on Oct. 23, and he is likely to attend the UNC game on Oct. 30. The former is a big football recruiting weekend while the latter is a big baseball recruiting weekend.
After all, those two sports are weighed equally in his eyes on the recruiting trail.
“Baseball is a big part,” Bowen said. “So are academics. Baseball and football are huge, but so are academics. The school I choose has to have a good balance of those three things.”
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