For as high as the Oregon fanbase was when 5-star safety Peyton Bowen announced his commitment to Dan Lanning and the Ducks on Wednesday morning, flipping from Notre Dame, that’s probably as low as they feel right now.
Bowen announced on Thursday that he plans to sign with the Oklahoma Sooners, going back on his commitment to Oregon and choosing a team who didn’t seem to even be among his final two options at his commitment announcement. When Bowen made his decision on Wednesday, there were two hats on the table for him to choose from; Notre Dame and Oregon. While Oklahoma was pushing hard for him down the stretch, it had appeared that they fell out of the running.
In the end, the Sooners got the last laugh.
Concerns of this being the case started to come out on Wednesday afternoon when Bowen’s letter or intent had failed to make its way to Eugene a few hours after the commitment. As fans continued to wait for the official announcement that Bowen had signed with Oregon, concern grew at a rapid rate.
Multiple reports throughout the evening showed that Bowen was potentially still weighing his options, and in the end it appears that he had a change of heart and ended up going with Brent Venables and the Sooners, staying close to home.
This is a tough blow for Dan Lanning and his squad, who otherwise won the day in the recruiting world on Wednesday.