Changing one’s mind is a student’s prerogative, and Peyton Bowen knows so more than most. The five-star defensive back flipped from Notre Dame to Oregon on National Signing Day, and is now flipping again. This time, Bowen has said he is signing for Oklahoma. College football has had a wild last couple of days with commitments, decommitments, and transfers happening at a rapid pace. This is just the latest drama in one of the craziest recruiting seasons of all time.
South Bend to Oregon to Norman
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning must have been overjoyed on Wednesday when he managed to flip five-star safety Peyton Bowen from Notre Dame. On Thursday afternoon, that smile would have been wiped off his chops when Bowen decided to flip again, this time to Oklahoma under defensive mastermind Brent Venables.
“Soon after choosing Oregon yesterday morning, I came to the realization that the decision was not the best path for me,” Bowen said via a Twitter statement.
“I immediately started to reconsider my future. I want to thank Coach Freeman, Coach Golden, and Coach Powledge. For most of this year I had truly envisioned my future at Notre Dame. That being said, after deciding to reconsider my final destination I came to realize my heart was somewhere else. That leads me to Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma has always felt like home to me. Reflecting, it seems as if I was always looking for a reason to branch out and break away from home. But my relationships with Coach Variables, Coach Bates, Coach Valai, Coach Hall and Coach Chavis, along with my ties to friends and family locally ultimately led me back to where I belonged.”
Respect my Decision just want peace for me and my family
Boomer Sooner ⭕️U!! pic.twitter.com/ERfET7lIyG— Peyton Bowen (@PeytonBowen10) December 22, 2022
Bowen also took some time to apologize to the fan bases of both Notre Dame and Oregon.
“Oregon and Notre Dame faithful, I am sorry for how I handled this process,” Bowen said. “Changing my decision on signing day, the hat pump fake, all of it could have been handled better. I can’t change what I did but this experience is something I will learn from.”
Whether he learns from it or not, he will now be doing so at Norman.
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