Notre Dame’s 2023 class kept rolling, and in unprecedented fashion, when elite safety Peyton Bowen announced his commitment to the Irish at his high school today. Bowen is currently the #59 overall recruit in the 247 Composite rankings, and based on his junior film could well end up as a five star. He’s the fourth 247 Composite top 100 defender in the class, joining #22 Keon Keeley, #38 Drayk Bowen, and #63 Brenan Vernon; no Notre Dame class in the internet recruiting era (roughly 2000 forward) has finished with that many. He’s the sixth top 150 defender, joining #102 Justyn Rhett (who will definitely be a top 100, maybe top 50 player by the time the cycle closes) and #150 Adon Shuler.

To put that in perspective a little further, the high number for top 100 prospects for an entire class in the Brian Kelly era – which spanned from the 2011 to 2021 cycles – was six in 2011. Notre Dame has just one commitment on offense so far, from #256 overall RB Sedrick Irvin Jr., but has a good chance to land at least four top 100 recruits on that side of the ball as well. We’re particularly monitoring #8 Dante Moore, #73 Jackson Arnold, and #86 Chris Vizzina at QB, #48 Justice Haynes at RB, #20 Carnell Tate and #34 Jalen Brown at WR, and #6 Kadyn Proctor, #37 Samson Okunlola, #54 Chase Bisontis, #64 Luke Montgomery, #89 Charles Jagusah, and #95 Monroe Freeling at OL. Notre Dame certainly won’t land all or even most of them, but four or five of these or other currently unforeseen guys are not out of the question.

Could the Irish really hit double-digit top 100 recruits in this class? I think it’s very possible, especially when you consider there are other top 100 defenders heavily considering Notre Dame. I know we say this every year, but with Marcus Freeman running the show and this much talent in the class already… This could actually be that special class we keep talking about.

Finally, it’s also worth noting here that Bowen is teammates with Jackson Arnold and #122 CB/S Ryan Yaites, who each have considerable interest in the Irish. That’s a package deal I would sign up for right now with no reservations.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9740 rating), #59 overall, #4 S, #11 in TX

247Sports — 4 star (93 rating), #77 overall, #4 S, #16 in TX

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #77 overall, #6 S, #13 in TX

ESPN — 4 star (86 rating), #50 overall, #2 S, #12 in TX

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (94 rating)

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Bowen holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC, among many others.

Highlights

Whoa. First off, Bowen is a very instinctual player – he has a great feel for when to come tight on a receiver and when to drop off and watch the QB, diagnoses very effectively, and generally has a knack for being around the ball. IrishSportsDaily.com analyst and Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama often talks about ball production with defensive backs, and boy does Bowen have that. Yes, some of his picks here are on tipped balls, but I don’t think those are mere coincidence – I think those tie into Bowen’s instincts. Similarly, from Julian Love’s high school highlights you had a sense he would generate turnovers in college just because he was always around the ball.

Plenty of other fun stuff here as well. Bowen covers an absurd amount of ground in centerfield. He’s not Kyle Hamilton – virtually nobody is – but the way he eats up huge chunks of turf while the ball is in the air is certainly reminiscent of #14. His long speed, visible on offense as well as on kick and interception returns, is very good. He’s a sure tackler when he needs to be. Finally, what really jumped out for me and will separate him from the immensely talented guys who don’t care enough, he hustles, and when I say he hustles I mean he hustles. Check the play at the 4:06 mark. When Bowen turns to find the ball, the runner is just about to break free on the near side hash at the 21 yard line and Bowen is about 15 yards away, almost on the numbers to the field side. He immediately turns on the jets and chases the kid out of bounds at the far side 20. He covered slightly more distance from basically a standstill in the same amount of time and likely saved a touchdown – 90% as much hustle and that kid scores.

One thing he might have to work on is toning down his aggressiveness in man coverage – when he was tight on guys I thought he got a little handsy, which on the wrong day could bite him. All in all that’s a good problem to have though.

Impact

Notre Dame’s 2023 safety depth chart holds very few sure projections at the moment. DJ Brown will have a COVID year available to him but will almost certainly be gone. Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts have shown promise in a small sample size, but who knows how they’ll look in a full season – and even if they look great, they can’t take every snap. Current freshman Justin Walters has shown some promise in camp, but that’s as far as it’s gone to this point. Obviously we have no idea what will shake out with the 2022 secondary signees – Jaden Mickey, Jayden Bellamy, and Ben Morrison.

What I’m saying is, opportunity will be there for the right prospect. I think Bowen could well be that guy who could crack the two-deep at the position as a true freshman. At the very least, even before seeing senior film, I think he’ll be good enough to push guys right away. He’s that talented.

Welcome to the Irish family, Peyton!