As college football works its way toward the early signing period, a major recruiting battle has become one of the top storylines in the sport. Five-star safety Peyton Bowen, who’s been committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish since Jan. 1, 2022, may not end up in South Bend after all.
While players still have to sign their national letters of intent, the Oklahoma Sooners have taken over as the favorite to land the No. 2 safety in the 2023 class.
Weeks ago, a pair of Rivals Futurecasts began to lend credence to the buzz that Oklahoma may have a shot to land Bowen. Then on Thursday, On3 reinforced the possibility with a couple of prediction flips of their own. Now, it’s 247Sports taking their turn as OUInsider’s Brandon Drumm issued a crystal ball predicting Bowen to flip to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Were Peyton Bowen to flip to the Sooners and join Denton Guyer teammate Jackson Arnold in Norman, the Sooners would land three five-star players in the 2023 class. The last time that happened was in the 2019 class with Jadon Haselwood, Spencer Rattler, and Theo Wease. Not one of those three players would finish their career with the Sooners.
According to the 247Sports database (which goes back to 2000), this would be the first time the Sooners have landed multiple five-star defensive prospects if they were able to land Bowen to go with Adepoju Adebawore.
Predictions don’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen, but with all the smoke over the last few weeks, it’s hard to imagine Bowen not flipping at this point. At the same time, it’s recruiting, and anything can happen.
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