Andrean's Drayk Bowen

[Boilernation]

The Class of '23 OLB'ers recruiting is blowing up. 247 has him rated as a 5 Star recruit. He has a wide variety of Big 10, SEC And Big 12 offers. Any of the NWI guys know if he's a dual sport candidate in college? I see he's also on the 59'er baseball team.

https://247sports.com/Player/Drayk-Bowen-46103028/

Edited April 26, 2021 by Boilernation

[Coach Nowlin]

He has a lot of tools.  

Clearly the #1 guy in Indiana.   Will be a handful I am sure again this year, his only JR year.   

 

[Guest DT]

Wow.  5 stars and only a sophomore.  Is that an all time first in Indiana?  Was Jalen Smith this highly rated after his sophomore season?

[Justasportsfan]

I believe Jaylon entered his junior season as a 5 star guy being no.1 in the state n either 5th or 3rd in the nation..

[Bobref]

Rivals says there is a better than even chance he’ll end up at Notre Dame. But a lot can change in 2 years. At 6’2” and 215, does he project as an outside LB, or strong safety? Is he still growing?

[Bobref]

https://www.si.com/college/notredame/recruiting/notre-dame-recruiting-elite-indiana-linebacker-drayk-bowen

Notre Dame In Hot Pursuit Of Elite Indiana Linebacker

Notre Dame is making a hard early push for standout 2023 linebacker Drayk Bowen, one of the nation's best linebackers

Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen is one of the top prospects in the entire Midwest for the 2023 cycle. The 6-2, 215-pound athlete has picked up offers from the likes of Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Michigan State, Purdue, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Arkansas over the past two months, so the talented defender's stock is rising all across the country -- and fast.

On St. Patrick's Day, Notre Dame reached out to Bowen as part of the Pot of Gold initiative. During the virtual call, both head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman told Bowen that he's one of the program's top targets on defense for his class, and he's a good fit given his proximity to campus as well. 

“They just say they are going to build something great there, which it already was great to begin with,” Bowen told Irish Breakdown. “With the addition of Coach Freeman, it's going to hopefully take off. They said they are going to recruit the best in the country and they want to get over the hump [and start] beating Alabama and Clemson.”

On the field, Bowen is a menace that gives opposing offensive coordinators fits with his speed, instinctive nature and size at outside linebacker. That combination of physical traits helped Bowen produce 80 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks and four forced fumbles as a sophomore, and he's currently ranked as the No. 3 outside linebacker in his class and No. 61 overall player in the country by 247Sports.com.

While a hot commodity as a football recruit, Bowen is also receiving college interest for his work on the baseball diamond as an infielder as well, and that's given him an opportunity to check out a few schools despite the ongoing dead period. 

“I've been down to Indiana for baseball, so I got to see their campus,” Bowen mentioned. “I actually went down a month ago and got to go look around the campus at Notre Dame. I really liked how it felt when you got on campus, kind of the historic part of it. It was really cool. You can watch the movie Rudy, then you get to go see the campus and see the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus. It was really cool.”

At the moment, Bowen is one of only six linebackers in the '23 cycle to hold an offer from the Fighting Irish, and he's already a big fan of the program. Notre Dame is one of several schools that Bowen has weekly conversations with as he navigates the recruiting process with other schools such as Virginia Tech, Oregon, Oklahoma State and South Carolina on the list too. Given how much closer Notre Dame is than any of those other schools, the Fighting Irish are likely in good position with Bowen at this point. 

And when Notre Dame does try to persuade Bowen to stay close to home, Freeman has talked about playing Bowen in space at the Rover role at the next level. Playing that type of position would put a pinnacle on Bowen's athleticism and quickness, but he's been busy working over the offseason to be faster and stronger by the time he steps on the field this Fall. 

“A lot of the time I will work on my explosiveness out of breaks and cuts and starts, then we have a dome right by my house, so I'll go there and we'll do seven-on-seven stuff,” Bowen said of his offseason regiment. “I'll get in pass work, pass drops. We have a bag at my house, so I've been doing bag work in the back yard. Then today I went to the track at my school and started working on my 40 time.”

“Most of our seniors are returning, and a lot of the sophomores and 2023s that are going to be juniors, a lot are returning and will provide a foundation to build on for the younger group.”

Recently, Bowen has been studying film, predicting plays, learning formations and focusing on the mental side of the game so that his physical talent can shine in 2021.

[Whiting89]

Not sure who is advising him but he should transfer to merrillville, crown point, Indy 6a or IMG academy.

[FarmerFran]

12 minutes ago, Whiting89 said:

Not sure who is advising him but he should transfer to merrillville, crown point, Indy 6a or IMG academy.

Not to argue, but his current situation seems to be working well enough.

[Coach Nowlin]

52 minutes ago, Whiting89 said:

Not sure who is advising him but he should transfer to merrillville, crown point, Indy 6a or IMG academy.

yes PLEASE let us know how 2 years at Andrean has stunted his recruiting 

 

[Guest DT]

1 hour ago, Coach Nowlin said:

yes PLEASE let us know how 2 years at Andrean has stunted his recruiting 

 

Whiting89 makes a good point.  How much high level competition will Bowen see in the next two years against a Northwest Crossroads schedule?  Or will he be truly challenged in the 2A tournament?

Players grow by playing against the best competition possible.  An argument can be made that staying at Andrean could possibly stunt his growth.

Edited April 26, 2021 by DT

[Coach Nowlin]

just stop     Slow Monday it seems;      For the record, you have no idea where @Whiting89 was going with his statement....... 

[Boilernation]

33 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

just stop     Slow Monday it seems;      For the record, you have no idea where @Whiting89 was going with his statement....... 

Expansion into the CCL/ESCC Blue Division? Play Brother Rice, Marist, Mt. Carmel, and Loyola Academy in Conference with crossovers against St. Rita, Montini, and Naz Academy? Keep Merrillville and Hobart for Non-Conference. Something like that? 😀 

[Guest DT]

35 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

just stop     Slow Monday it seems;      For the record, you have no idea where @Whiting89 was going with his statement....... 

IMG exists for kids like Bowen.  Get your head out of the sand.  I doubt there is another 3 star kid in NWI let alone a 4 or 5 star to help set the standard.  

[Guest DT]

https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Football/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool&State=IN

Very little elite level talent coming out of NWI

[Whiting89]

I think he would like to play in a competitive environment, probably half his games he will be playing 2 quarters. 
we all know what you do in high school is irrelevant, it’s all measurable and camp exposure.

 

[Guest DT]

1 hour ago, Whiting89 said:

I think he would like to play in a competitive environment, probably half his games he will be playing 2 quarters. 
we all know what you do in high school is irrelevant, it’s all measurable and camp exposure.

 

Thats pretty depressing  What the hell are we doing here?

Edited April 27, 2021 by DT

[Whiting89]

24 minutes ago, DT said:

Thats pretty depressing  What the hell are we doing here?

What I meant by that for a prospect like himself high school is irrelevant for his recruitment, whatever he does in games will not count against or help him.  

[WolvesOnTheProwl]

Hope he ends up at Notre Dame, and if he wants to play baseball too like some other golden domers (Jeff Samardija sp?, Golden Tate, Tori Hunter, etc) it can't help that ND is currently a top 10 baseball team (had to triple check, one site said #6, another said #8). 

[Bobref]

On 4/26/2021 at 10:02 PM, Whiting89 said:

What I meant by that for a prospect like himself high school is irrelevant for his recruitment, whatever he does in games will not count against or help him.  

But it’s not irrelevant to his development as a whole person. I know this is a football site. But for the love of God, can we quit expecting (demanding?) that high school kids act like professionals? I don’t care if a kid is the #1 5-star recruit in the nation. If his coach and parents aren’t reminding him that he’s one injury away from becoming just like everyone else,  and preparing him for a life outside of football, they’re doing him a disservice. 

[Coach Nowlin]

9 hours ago, Bobref said:

But it’s not irrelevant to his development as a whole person. I know this is a football site. But for the love of God, can we quit expecting (demanding?) that high school kids act like professionals? I don’t care if a kid is the #1 5-star recruit in the nation. If his coach and parents aren’t reminding him that he’s one injury away from becoming just like everyone else,  and preparing him for a life outside of football, they’re doing him a disservice. 

BINGO 

[WolvesOnTheProwl]

I know it's not a simple comparison but anyone remember Jack Kiser from Pioneer?? Kid was awesome playing 1A football, everyone said he was not going to be able to make it at Notre Dame because of his high school competition. Granted JK was hurt last year, but he got some LB playing time 2 years ago and the staff loves him because he understands the game and he's always around the ball. If he can stay healthy I think he's got a chance at starting at Rover this year for the Irish. 

[Bobref]

2 minutes ago, WolvesOnTheProwl said:

I know it's not a simple comparison but anyone remember Jack Kiser from Pioneer?? Kid was awesome playing 1A football, everyone said he was not going to be able to make it at Notre Dame because of his high school competition. Granted JK was hurt last year, but he got some LB playing time 2 years ago and the staff loves him because he understands the game and he's always around the ball. If he can stay healthy I think he's got a chance at starting at Rover this year for the Irish. 

And that’s the same position they’re looking at for Bowen.

[Whiting89]

11 hours ago, Bobref said:

But it’s not irrelevant to his development as a whole person. I know this is a football site. But for the love of God, can we quit expecting (demanding?) that high school kids act like professionals? I don’t care if a kid is the #1 5-star recruit in the nation. If his coach and parents aren’t reminding him that he’s one injury away from becoming just like everyone else,  and preparing him for a life outside of football, they’re doing him a disservice. 

I think that goes without saying he is from south lake county and attends a private school so I think he is fine academically.

[RegionFBFan]

He is an outstanding student as well with a 4.1 gpa. Extremely hard worker on and off the field. Parents are active, involved and push for excellence.

Offers just keep coming every week. Wisconsin this week.

[Bobref]

Is he likely to get bigger? He’s only a sophomore now, which means he’s got 2 more off seasons in the weight room before he steps onto a college field.