Class Impact: 2023 Safety Peyton Bowen Commits To Notre Dame

Breaking down how the commitment of Peyton Bowen impacts the 2023 Notre Dame class and the depth chart

Notre Dame picked up another major 2023 commitment by landing Denton (Texas) Guyer standout Peyton Bowen. The 6-1, 185-pound safety picked Notre Dame over Alabama, Oklahoma and USC.

Bowen ranks as the nation's No. 50 overall player and No. 2 safety in the 2023 class according to ESPN. He is the No. 58 overall player and No. 4 safety on the 247Sports composite ranking.

Let's break down how the commitment of Bowen impacts the Notre Dame 2023 recruiting class and the Irish depth chart.

NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT

Bowen is the 8th overall commitment to Notre Dame in the 2023 class. He is the 6th defensive commit and the 2nd safety to commit to the Fighting Irish in the 2023 class.

Landing a skill player from Texas is huge, and Notre Dame had not landed a defensive back from the Lone Star State since it signed Nick Watkins as part of the 2014 class.

Notre Dame signed just one safety type prospect in the 2022 class, and that was Jayden Bellamy, who was originally recruited to play corner in the class. The Irish also lost 2021 signee Khari Gee, who recently entered the transfer portal. Combine that with not signing a safety in the 2020 class and the position was clearly arguably the most important position on defense for the Irish in the 2023 cycle.

Adding Bowen to a class that already has Irvington (N.J.) High School standout safety Adon Shuler means Notre Dame has met its minimum numbers need in the class. More importantly, Bowen and Shuler give the Irish two extremely talented players.

Bowen is the 5th defensive commitment in the 2023 class to rank as Top 100 recruit by at least one recruiting service.

NOTRE DAME FIT

The exciting thing about Bowen is he's just scratching the surface of what kind of player he can be. He's a two-way player in high school and he's also a special teams standpoint. When he gets to college and focuses on one side of the ball his game should explode.

Bowen is listed at 6-1 and he is rangy, which suits him as both a deep middle defender and also aids him when he attacks the alleys. Bowen explodes downhill and he covers a lot of ground in a hurry.

His ability to play centerfield and the alleys is a must for a safety at Notre Dame, who often uses its back end defenders in an interchangeable manner. 

Bowen shows impressive long speed, a must for a safety. You can especially this explosiveness when he's on offense as a vertical threat. Eventually you'll see it even more on defense, but when his footwork is right you can see Bowen change direction with easy and explode to the route or the ball.

The Guyer standout shows an outstanding feel for the game. He shows good route recognition, takes good angles to the football and he plays the ball extremely well. Bowen is also a willing and able tackler.

Right now his footwork and drop technique are works in progress. When his technique is right his transitions - both vertically and downhill - are tremendous. When his technique isn't right he looks tight when he turns. Once his technique becomes more consistently good his game is going to explode.

Notre Dame wants safeties that can play centerfield, run the alleys and play in man coverage. Bowen has the tools to eventually do all of those at an elite level, which makes this a huge pickup for the Fighting Irish.

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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