Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 NOV. 9, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE F rom the game's first possession, sophomore Notre Dame line- backer Drayk Bowen slammed into every Georgia Tech ball carrier he could find. And it didn't stop there. Bowen would chop his feet, driving and driving and driving until the runner suc- cumbed and hit the turf. He wasn't the only Irish linebacker who did that in At- lanta, but with 9 tackles and a whopping 6 defensive stops (tackles that result in a failure for the offense), he was the best. "It's huge, because now you talk about third-and-short situations, it gives our defense a chance to, 'OK, fourth down. Don't give them a free first down,'" Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "You can drive guys back and limit the point of contact." By the end of the afternoon, Geor- gia Tech could feel the effects of Bowen hunting them down. With less than a minute to go, the 6-foot-2, 239-pound linebacker violently wrestled Yellow Jackets signal-caller Zach Pyron to the ground. Pyron got up and gingerly walked back to the line of scrimmage, holding his midsection. On the next play, Pyron threw a gar- bage-time touchdown. But Bowen, blitz- ing up the middle, still made him pay. "He really didn't want any part of it," Bowen said. "That's something Coach [Al] Golden talks about. If they're a run- ning quarterback, they gotta pay the toll of running the ball." Bowen has always looked to punish ball carriers if they dare cross into his air space. He's more athletic than he's given credit for, but he's very much an old-school thumper as Notre Dame's top Mike linebacker. Like all young players, Bowen took his lumps in his first few weeks as a full- time starter. Through seven games, he led the Irish in both tackles (38) and defensive stops (17), and recently it's started to come together for No. 34. "I think the more reps you get, com- bined with your study, combined with the knowledge of the defense, the game starts to slow down for you," Jeremy Bowen, OLD SCHOOL OLD SCHOOL Hard-hitting throwback linebacker Hard-hitting throwback linebacker Drayk Bowen is turning into Drayk Bowen is turning into a force at Notre Dame a force at Notre Dame Bowen (No. 34) leads the Irish in both tackles (38) and defensive stops (17), heading into the Navy game Oct. 26. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER