After going down a once in a decade Signing Day rollercoaster, Denton (Texas) Guyer five-star safety Peyton Bowen has signed with Oklahoma.
This concludes a topsy-turvy recruitment that started with Bowen committing to Notre Dame on Jan. 1 before almost immediately showing interest in Oklahoma, Texas A&M and others in the spring.
Bowen took multiple visits to both Oklahoma and Texas A&M during the spring and summer before the Sooners emerged as the apparent lone flip favorite heading into the month of December.
However, Oregon made a brief but notable appearance in his recruitment, and was close to securing an official visit this past weekend before the Ducks’ attempt was thwarted by Oklahoma’s scheduled in-home visit on Saturday afternoon which followed Notre Dame’s in-home visit on Thursday. Notre Dame also went back in-home on Sunday morning, which was first reported by Tom Loy of 247Sports.
After keeping the suspense rolling into National Signing Day, Bowen pulled a shocker for not only recruiting fans, but to his own family as well by picking Oregon in a signing day ceremony.
Almost immediately following his commitment, Bowen initiated contact with Notre Dame and Oklahoma before eventually sending in his letter of intent to the Sooners late on Wednesday night.
Bowen made it official on Thursday, finally.
At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Bowen is the No. 10 ranked recruit in the country for the class of 2023, according to Rivals. He is the No. 2 safety in the country and the No. 2 recruit from the state of Texas.
COMMITMENT ANALYSIS
During his senior season, Bowen found just about every way to affect a game from the safety position, whether it be forcing and returning fumbles, creating scoring opportunities off of long interception returns – or just downright scoring himself – or making impact plays in the return game.
His IQ from the defensive backfield allows him to see everything happening in front of him at a moment’s notice, and his reaction timing puts him in the list of the most dangerous defenders I have ever personally covered.
His potential as a kick and punt returner in Norman should make Oklahoma fans excited for the third phase.
Down the stretch, Bowen has a real chance to rise further into the top 10 if he can carry his senior season performance into the Under Armour All-American Game next month.
