Oklahoma Loses Out to Georgia on Elite Linebacker Troy Bowles

The son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles picked the Bulldogs over the Sooners and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ryan Chapman | Jul 16, 2022

Oklahoma Loses Out to Georgia on Elite Linebacker Troy Bowles /

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma missed out on the Nation's No. 1 linebacker on Saturday.

Troy Bowles, the class of 2023 prospect who is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, committed to Georgia over the Sooners and Ohio State.

A 6-foot-1, 205-pound product of Jesuit High School in Tampa Bay, Bowles has continued to turn heads throughout his productive career.

Across his three years as a major contributor, Bowles has racked up 271 total tackles, including 29 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback sacks.

A complete player, he’s also added 10 pass breakups, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and four recovered fumbles throughout his high school career.

Bowles visited all three of Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State this June.

The Sooners were up first during OU’s ChampU Family BBQ, as the linebacker then visited the Bulldogs and the Buckeyes on the two following weekends.

Brent Venables still has attracted plenty of linebacker talent in the 2023 class despite Bowles’ decision to head to Athens.

Oklahoma already has earned the verbal pledges of Pennsylvania product Phil Picciotti, Texas high school star Samuel Omosigho and Virginia’s Kaleb Spencer, and the Sooners will look to add another player into the fold in the coming weeks.

The loss of Bowles hardly puts a damper on what has been an impressive July for OU on the recruiting trail.

Six recruits have already picked the Sooners this month, and the 2023 class has ballooned to 15 commits overall with plenty of high profile targets already scheduled to make their decisions before the month comes to a close.

Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!

Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!

Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.

Published Jul 16, 2022

RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK.