1st year starter for Notre Dame football already near the top of his class

The Notre Dame football team’s defense continues to be among the best in the entire country. That’s not a surprise to those who know the kind of talent the Irish have on that side of the ball for a second straight year.

What might be a bit of a surprise is who one of their best players has been so far this season. Yes, Howard Cross III, Rylie Mills, Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison have all been as good as people hoped. But sophomore Drayk Bowen is among the nation’s best in at least one important category. And it’s his first season starting.

Bowen is currently sporting a Football Focus tackling grade of 88.9, which just happens to be the second-highest grade of any linebacker in the sport. The Notre Dame football linebacker is also tied for 15th among all defenders when it comes to that rating group.

Bowen has been a nice surprise especially since he wasn’t guaranteed a starting job when fall camp opened. It’s especially noteworthy because he’s yet another two-sport athlete on the Irish. While Jordan Faison does football and lacrosse, Bowen is football and baseball.

Notre Dame football sophomore impressing already

Bowen does still have some things to improve on. His overall rating with PFF isn’t nearly as impressive. He has just a 68.6 rating overall on defense. That is down from last year.

However, that’s almost certainly at least a little bit of a side effect of starting this year as opposed to mostly coming off the bench. It’s clear that his progress will continue and the Notre Dame football team will reap the benefit.