Peyton Bowen Talks Notre Dame Commitment Status, Relationship With Marcus Freeman, Scheme Fit

Notre Dame safety commit Peyton Bowen talked about the status of his pledge, his relationships with the Irish head coach and fit in the Notre Dame defense

Notre Dame is off to a fantastic start on the recruiting trails in the 2023 cycle, sitting as the No. 1 class in the country for the 2023 cycle. One of the very best and highest ranked recruits in the current group of commits is Denton (Texas) Guyer standout safety Peyton Bowen.

Bowen spoke with Irish Breakdown contributor Brian Smith about the latest with his commitment to Notre Dame, beginning with his view on Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

“He’s my dude since he was the defensive coordinator,” Bowen said of the Irish head coach. “Jumping up from that level to head coach, I already had a good relationship.”

Notre Dame's scheme fit is attractive to Bowen, and he's seen what a top talent at safety can do in the Irish defense.

“It helps that Kyle Hamilton is a top four draft pick at safety,” Bowen said. “I know he’s 6-4, but I think I can match up with his speed. I think I can be a playmaker in all those aspects and just come in to hopefully not fill in his shoes, but make a name for myself.”

From a scheme fit perspective, Bowen has the type of skill set to assume a variety of roles on the backend. That versatility was something that the coaching staff has been very open with about Bowen’s projection.

“They said they would move me to cornerback if I have to match up ... field safety mostly and if I get big enough, then at rover,” Bowen explained.

The rover layer is an interesting projection, and one that would be way in the future, if ever. Field safety is the natural designation. With this combination of range and twitch, Bowen covers an absurd amount of ground on the backend. He is a natural free safety fit who makes his biggest impact working from depth.

There is some matchup potential in man coverage as well - as the coaches have depicted. Bowen is a loose and explosive mover who changes direction that of a much smaller defender. That can allow him to mirror and match in man coverage at a high level potentially.

Since playing in the 165-170 pound range as a junior, Bowen now sits around 185 pounds. That weight gain will give him even more upside to work near the line of scrimmage and in the box. He has some impressive range as a tackler, boasting a long frame and plus foot speed to play outside of his frame.

It’s clear that Notre Dame faithful should be excited about the potential of Bowen on the backend for the Irish. Keeping him in the class is going to be a battle. Even with the commitment, this caliber of athlete is going to be in high demand, something Irish fans must be prepared for.

“They are still my number one school," Bowen said of the Irish. "I just still have a year to sign those papers so I don’t want to shut everyone down so I can find my home. Notre Dame is my home right now and I still feel that way but just seeing the other opportunities out there.”

For the rest of the process, Bowen plans on still taking visits and doing his due diligence. A number of top programs remain heavily involved with Bowen, who ranks as the nation's No. 49 overall player according to On3 and ESPN.

“I would say Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas A&M really... they’re pushing,” Bowen explained. “USC is pushing too with (Alex) Grinch and (Roy) Manning texting me. LSU contacts me a little bit. Ohio State contacts me a lot.”

That type of interest should be no surprise. Bowen is a potentially special athlete on the next level. It’s going to be a battle but having an early commitment is certainly the place you want to be if you are Notre Dame.

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Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
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Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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