Notre Dame Fighting Irish news: Bowen spurns Irish (maybe), basketball split

Notre Dame football had some brutal news yesterday as Peyton Bowen decided to de-commit at the last minute. With that, he committed to the Oregon Ducks football program. So, he will head to Eugene for his collegiate career. But, for what it’s worth, there has been a hold-up with his paperwork and process, and not all is done yet.

In one of the weirdest recruitments of all time, Oregon swooped in at the last second with Phil Knight money and landed Bowen. We genuinely wish him the best of luck and hope he has a great career in the Pac-12. Or is it the Pac-10? Honestly, at this point, I’m not quite sure. Regardless, best of luck, Peyton, wherever your future takes you!

Besides him and Jayden Limar, who was also recruited to Oregon via NIL, the Irish signed the remaining 24 committed players. Drayk Bowen, Christian Gray, Cooper Flanagan, Charles Jagusah, and more will play huge roles for Notre Dame football in the future. The class is still top-10 and will be great for the Irish moving forward.

In the class of 2023, the program landed Kaleb Smith, a speedy slot receiver out of Texas. However, they also landed a commitment from transfer portal wide receiver Kaleb Smith out of Virginia Tech. A bit confusing, but while Kaleb Smith out of Virginia Tech will play right away, Kaleb Smith, the freshman commit, may take time to see the field. The younger Smith will find the field if he sticks with Notre Dame football.

If you think this is as bad as NIL will get, think again. This is only the beginning, and Notre Dame has to keep recruiting at an extremely high level if they want to compete in the new era of college football. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Notre Dame will start handing out NIL money to high school recruits soon.

The program is in great hands with Marcus Freeman as the head coach. Had he been the head coach 10 years ago, Notre Dame would consistently have top 5 classes, and I can nearly guarantee that. He’s one of the best recruiters in the nation. Notre Dame football will be just fine moving forward.

A quick basketball recap as Notre Dame women’s basketball dominated Western Michigan 85 to 57 for the easy win. Unfortunately, Notre Dame men’s basketball lost a heartbreaker to Florida State by a score of 73-72. One they definitely needed.

It was a very up-and-down day for Fighting Irish fans, but one that won’t soon be forgotten by many. Congratulations to all the young student-athletes that signed with Notre Dame football.