How Peyton Bowen's High School Experience Prepared Him to Play Early at Oklahoma

The true freshman has been able to mentally handle all the challenges OU's coaching staff has thrown at him through spring practice and fall camp.

NORMAN — Though he hasn’t yet played a single snap, defensive back Peyton Bowen seems to have already earned the trust of the coaching staff.

Landing the 5-star true freshman was a dramatic victory for Oklahoma during last winter’s early signing period, but Brent Venables’ defense might not have to wait too long to reap the rewards.

“Really excited about Peyton,” Venables said at Big 12 Media Days this past July. “Obviously feel strong he’s going to help us immediately. Again, the game’s easy for him. The good ones it is.

“He finds the ball. He gets concepts. He never — the moment never gets too big for him.”

An early enrollee, Bowen went through spring and showed that he could translate that high football intelligence to the college game.

In fall camp, Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof have moved Bowen around, as he said he’s learning up to five different roles in the OU defense.

A safety by trade, Venables revealed at the start of fall camp that Bowen was among the players also learning the cheetah linebacker position, giving the spot plenty of personnel options as Bowen works alongside Dasan McCullough, Justin Harrington and Reggie Pearson.

No one would blame Bowen if throwing so many responsibilities at the true freshman in an already complicated defense bogged him down mentally.

But Bowen has enjoyed the challenge, as he’s never been bothered by needing to put in extra work off the field.

“Whenever I put my mind to learning something, I can learn it like really easily,” Bowen said after Oklahoma’s practice concluded on Tuesday. “… I’m more of a hands on learner, so I learn better out on the field, running stuff.”

Extra work in the film room isn’t the only advantage Bowen enjoys as he tries to digest the new scheme.

The young defensive back also credits his coaching staff at Denton Guyer High School for preparing him by playing a high-level scheme.

“Coach (Reed) Heim's defense at Guyer was really good,” Bowen said. “He has a really good mind, set up. I played the man at six yards multiple times so it wasn't really that hard. How our defense works, I practically played cheetah in our base defense so I mean it's not really too much different.

“Playing with him and playing 6A football in Texas was a great — I feel like the spring game was really, it wasn't even moving fast for me. It was very, like, I knew what I was doing. I was calmed down. So I feel like that's what got me here the most.”

Bowen and the coaching staff hope his interception in the spring game will just be the first of many memorable moments that fill his highlight reel come this fall.

But through his first spring practice and fall camp, Bowen has been a delight for Venables and safeties coach Brandon Hall.

“He takes a challenge well. Incredibly coachable,” Venables said. “… He can take one language and translate it to another language that means the same thing. It’s not too much for him. He doesn’t get paralyzed in that. Tough, physical, great range, ball skills, again, tremendous anticipation.

“… Just a football player. We’ve got to find a role for him and give him what he can handle so he can be a great player.”

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