Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen Proves He Is Among Nation's Elite At All-American Bowl

Drayk Bowen puts an exclamation point on his historic senior season with big time week of practices in San Antonio

There is an adjustment for every player on the All star game circuit learning a new system, competing against other great talent and gaining confidence quickly. During the All-Star Bowl week of practice, we saw several Notre Dame signees showcase their skills among the best players in the 2023 recruiting class, with several showing massive improvement throughout the week.

Linebacker signee Drayk Bowen got the week started off with a bang on Tuesday and has steadily gotten even better throughout. When you take a step back now and evaluate, there’s a legitimate argument that Bowen was the top overall linebacker on either team.

From start to finish, he represented the future of Notre Dame football at a high level. There was a lot for Bowen to prove, and he did just that.

“The first day was just about getting up to speed with everything, the size of the offensive line,” Bowen explained. “It is a lot different than high school so you just have to adjust to it. I felt like I could compete with everyone here coming in but I just felt like I had to prove that.

“Just throughout the week I feel like I have gotten better and better with the run fits, being able to play against a bigger offensive line and getting past them and figuring out what doesn’t work,” continued Bowen. “I feel like my progression throughout the week has been good.”

After rotating between MIKE and WILL linebacker early in the week, Bowen has assumed a leadership role in the middle of the West defense. He has quickly become a main communicator for the squad, something that Bowen takes massive pride in.

“It has been a pretty easy adjustment,” Bowen explained. “I kinda did that in high school, main communicator with the offensive line, defensive backs and offense some as well. It’s been a pretty easy adjustment, obviously new teammates but it has been great.”

Prior to the final West practice on Friday, Bowen was greeted with yet another big honor. He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Indiana, something that Bowen has done in two straight years.

Later that night, Bowen was also named the All-American Bowl Defensive Player of the Year at their banquet. You won’t find a more highly decorated player than Bowen, who has been cleaning up with the hardware this off-season. This latest honor from Gatorade was another special one for the Indiana star.

“It’s super special,” he said. “Not many people have done it back-to-back years. It’s something I’m grateful for and super excited that I won it.”

Later in the week, wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. and offensive tackle Charles Jagusah joined the talented Irish signees in San Antonio after not being able to compete this week due to injury. That seven man group has gotten a big opportunity to spend some time together this week, something that they will be able to do a lot more of in a couple weeks when Bowen officially enrolls.

“It has been super exciting,” he said. “We all get to hang out and stuff so it has been a pretty fun week with them, get to play video games, just hang out and go around the city. It has been great.”

If there were any questions how Bowen would stack up heading into the week, they were completely erased. From start to finish, he showcased what makes him so special as a player, person and competitor. 

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