The Notre Dame football team will face some robust competition when it comes to landing Troy Bowens. The 4-star EDGE is becoming one of the most highly sought-after defenders in the 2027 class.
While Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish are on quite the hot streak, one power team is standing in the way more than most. If the Blue and Gold want to land Sutter (Sutter, CA) defender, they must get past the Oregon Ducks to do it.
Oregon offered the Notre Dame football target earlier this winter, and the fact that the Ducks were the second team to offer stood out to the talented player. He recently spoke about the impression that Dan Lanning made on him, and it certainly appears that Freeman has his work cut out for him.
Notre Dame football enters heavyweight fight for Troy Bowens
"It was crazy when Oregon offered and I didn't really expect that, just being a sophomore. I'm at a small school so I didn't expect to have a school like Oregon offer me. I was up there for a visit not too long ago and they were telling me how much they were interested in me. Coach (Dan) Lanning and coach Tosh are both really great coaches," Bowens said.
Notre Dame will be looking to ramp up its pursuit of Bowens. 247Sports is just one organization that sees him as being a very talented player who will have plenty of Power 4 teams contending for him.
"Bowens is a big framed edge who probably projects best as a 3-4 end or moving inside in a four-man front. He's a productive player with positional versatility and even played some receiver as a freshman before playing solely on defense as a sophomore. He's not a super twitchy athlete and can continue to improve in this area but he's a physical player with strong hands and shows a non-stop motor. He has good straight line quickness and closes well on the football. Has a solid track profile with a background in the shot and discuss and there's plenty of long term upside here."
Notre Dame football will look to overcome Oregon with an official visit. Unofficial visits will come first.