Why Oklahoma Freshman Eli Bowen is Ready for His Moment

The Sooners' first-year cornerback has gotten more and more action and has responded well, meaning he could see important snaps when OU plays Texas next week.

Eli Bowen / Eli Bowen via social media

Maybe no one really expected very much out of Eli Bowen in his freshman year.

But now approaching the halfway point of the season — approaching next week’s epic clash with No. 2-ranked Texas — those expectations have changed.

Bowen has slowly and steadily become a valued member of the Oklahoma secondary, and he’ll apparently be a big part of the game plan when the 19th-ranked Sooners meet the Longhorns next Saturday in Dallas.

“We trust Eli,” OU coach Brent Venables said on last week’s coach’s show.

Bowen didn’t play at cornerback in the Sooners’ first two games, but he got in for 23 total snaps (19 on defense) against Tulane, 14 (12 defense) against Tennessee and then last week at Auburn played 35 total snaps, including 29 on defense.

It was during the Tennessee game that Venables really saw something and was impressed by how Bowen reacted.

When the 5-foot-9, 187-pound Bowen stepped on the field against the Vols’ big, tall, fast wide receivers, the team in orange immediately thought they had an advantage.

“As soon as he came out there, that big 6-4, 6-5 receiver, he goes, ‘Hey look! I got the little fella!’ And they had the formation into the boundary, so there’s all this space and there’s only one receiver out there by himself … and I’m thinking, ‘This ain’t him.’ All I thought was, ‘He thinks he’s that guy.’ Like, this ain’t the guy. And I’m really thinking Eli Bowen, even though he’s a little smaller in … stature, he plays like he’s 6-2, 210 pounds, and I’m like, ‘Y’all got him mixed up.’ 

“So they end up trying him a couple times down the field and he’s in perfect phase. Never panicked. And then they try to throw the quick hitch in front of him like ’The little guy can’t tackle,’ and he was like a water moccasin on him. 

“We should have gotten him in the first half,” Venables added.

According to Pro Football Focus, Bowen’s overall grade of 73.3 so far this season is the highest among OU’s cornerbacks and ranks third on the team. His pass coverage grade of 73.7 also leads OU’s corners.

That seems significant as Jay Valai’s group brought back five-year starter Woodi Washington, 2023 starter Gentry Williams, part-time starter Kani Walker and two-year San Diego State starter Dez Malone — and Bowen, in albeit limited action, has been more efficient than all of them. 

His 80.3 overall defensive grade against Tennessee was OU’s third-best among the entire defense, and his 70.3 overall grade in the Auburn game ranked seventh.

Per PFF, he’s been targeted six times so far this season and has only given up two catches for 14 yards.

“It’s been good,” Bowen said this week in his first interview as a Sooner. “I’ve been working on it since I’ve been here. It’s been good to see my hard work pay off.

“ … It’s definitely been a big stepping stone, because it’s the first games I’ve actually played in. It gave me confidence to know that I can be out there playing how I should be playing.”

Venables talks a lot about Bowen’s precocious nature and football instincts — much like he did last year about Bowen’s older brother, safety Peyton Bowen. Just like big brother, there seems to be a built-in awareness and football IQ that serves him well and belies his youth. 

Being around Peyton and the OU team last year has helped him develop those innate skills even quicker, Bowen thinks.

“Definitely, I had come up here a lot and had been close with a lot of people that I came with here already,” he said. “Definitely made it a lot easier.”

"He’s been sound," Venables said. "Young players, you want guys that when they get out there, they know what to do. And that’s the responsibility of the player. The coach knows what he’s good at, what his strengths are, what his weaknesses are. The player has to own the responsibility of knowing what to do and knowing adjustments and know how to communicate. And so far, that’s a piece of it that he’s been really sound on.

“He’s super coachable. He’s very skilled. His fundamentals are ahead of the curve that way. And he’s a tough guy ... He’s been the model of consistency and he’s always ready. So that when I say the moment doesn't seem too big, that’s a big part of it, too. He’s ready. So he’s earned the opportunity to get more playing time. And he’s gonna be a really good player.”

No doubt when the high-flying Texas offense and its corps of big, tall, fast receivers line up and see Bowen at corner, the team in orange will sense an inherent advantage.

Maybe they’ll be able to exploit that advantage. Or maybe they won’t.

Bowen’s first interview at OU this week elicited a wide-eyed moment for the freshman — “a lot of cameras,” he said with a smile — and he’ll certainly experience a rush of the unfamiliar when he steps onto the Cotton Bowl grass against the Longhorns.

However, he said he’s attended the Red River Rivalry three times as a recruit, so he has some built-in knowledge of what it will feel like.

“I’m used to being in the stands watching growing up,” he said. “Being on the field, in that environment, I know it will be ecstatic and exciting.

“It’s definitely the biggest … words can’t explain it.”

BREAKING: Class of 2024 CB Eli Bowen tells me he’s down to 2️⃣ Schools!

The 5’9 180 CB from Denton, TX will choose between Texas & Oklahoma

Is the younger brother of Peyton Bowen

Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/dEq6RrK8SE pic.twitter.com/2f2i315IGr

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 4, 2023

As a recruit coming out of Denton Guyer High School, Bowen boiled his choice down to two schools: Texas and Oklahoma. He took his official visit to Norman on June 9, 2023, and then took his official visit to Austin a week later. So he’s felt a bit of that Red River heat for a while now. 

“The biggest thing was, as the year was going and going, I didn’t know I was going to be playing for OU,” he said. “It was like, I’ll be playing on this field and in environments like this. It was eye-opening and awakening.”

Bowen committed to OU in August last year, then signed with the Sooners on Dec. 20 and actually was one of seven 2024 signees who participated in practice for the Alamo Bowl. He started classes on Jan. 16 and has been fast-tracked to playing time ever since.

None of that happened by accident.

“He’s a super confident guy,” Venables said. “He’s always ready, he’s got fabulous fundamentals and he doesn’t play with any fear.”