SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Freshly signed Notre Dame linebacker recruit Drayk Bowen will get to test the extent of his multi-tasking skills the moment he starts freshman classes at ND as a mid-year enrollee on Jan. 17.
There’s a plan in place, and some precedent of Irish football players toggling between football and baseball, though most of the recent success stories have been pitchers and not position players. And no one’s done it as a freshman early enrollee.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been at a school with a football program,” first-year Notre Dame baseball coach Shawn Stiffler said Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Bowen signed his football National Letter of Intent.
“So I’m basically sitting on Mars right now.”
A month after Bowen takes his first class, on Feb. 17, they’ll all presumably be in Nashville, Tenn. — Stiffler, Bowen and an Irish team coming off a College World Series appearance — for Notre Dame’s season opening series with Lipscomb.
The Irish play 17 consecutive games away from South Bend, Ind., to start the season — punctuating the difficulty of the two-sports commitment, as a freshman no less — before ND’s home opener on March 21 against Valparaiso.
“Drayk is a special, special individual, but that’s going to be a lot for him,” Stiffler said. “So, I think all of us have to be able to give him some grace and give him some space. It started with just being able to put together a pretty detailed plan of what his mornings look like and as he gets to class, what those afternoons will look like.
“And Drayk’s very aware that there are times he’ll spend on his own and working in the cages on his own. But I think right now the priority is lifting and conditioning with football, and his (initial) skill development will be done on the baseball side.”
Once spring football starts, in March, Bowen’s schedule will tilt toward football and not missing any of the 15 scheduled spring practice sessions.
Bowen helped lead Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean High School to state titles in both sports as a junior. This past fall, the 59ers fell one game short of repeating as Indiana Class 2A state champs in football.
After the season, Bowen was named the high school Butkus Award winner, emblematic of the top linebacker in the nation. As the No. 45 prospect overall in the Rivals250 and No. 1-ranked outside linebacker, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Bowen is expected to contribute early — even with a fairly crowded linebacker depth chart.
The Irish football coaches have told him he’ll likely play one of the inside linebacker spots, probably will (weakside).
In baseball his primary position was shortstop, but it likely won’t be at Notre Dame. Stiffer sees him as a corner infielder or outfielder and a right-handed bat with some pop.
“If you look at right-handed hitters in the Major Leagues, they look like Drayk,” Stiffler said. “ Right-handed hitters in the big leagues are not small men. He fits that mold .. and it’s something we need in our room.”
Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet is the most recent Notre Dame football player to take on the baseball challenge. He had the skill set to be an everyday outfielder but opted to be a pitcher instead to maximize his time with each sport.
The lefty reliever played three years of football for Notre Dame and two years of baseball, with his sophomore season getting cut short by injury. He entered the NFL Draft after his junior football season.
NBA forward Pat Connaughton and former Major League pitcher Jeff Samardzija, a former star wide receiver for the Irish, also successfully pulled off double duty.
“I do think that’s something I can do as a freshman and beyond,” Bowen said on a recent Inside ND Sports Podcast. “And I really like the (new) baseball coaches. I definitely think I can fit in there. I’m really excited.
“We’ll see how freshman year goes, because that’s going to be an adjustment period … but I’m super excited to play for them.”
Stiffler is excited just to see Bowen in practice for the first time.
“I think the biggest thing for me right now is his leadership, his work ethic,” Stiffler said. “Excited to have him come in and impact our room right away. I think he is first-class when it comes to all those things, as you guys have seen.
“Notre Dame has been the blueprint for the two-sport player. I think everything about this university is telling people what they can do, not what they can’t do. And Drayk’s the next (example) of that. I think we’ve just got to be patient.
“I think both of us (football and baseball) are pretty committed to helping that young man reach all of his goals.”
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