Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2026 33 ing opportunities to maximize their value before wrapping up their college careers. What the extra season of eligibility gives Bowen, Faison and Gray is more flexibility. The 2026 season doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. If they don't reach their expectations, they can rebound in 2027 before testing the NFL market. Bowen has the chance to be Notre Dame's leading tackler for the second consecutive season. Faison could be Notre Dame's leading receiver for the second consecutive season. Gray's role this fall may be less certain. Gray, who intercepted 5 passes and started 25 games the past two seasons, has been given a chance to win the start- ing nickel back role after spending his first three seasons playing on the out- side. Notre Dame took a risk in bring- ing in Colorado cornerback transfer DJ McKinney to potentially improve the secondary. If Gray excels at nickel back, the Irish will look extremely smart. If the experiment fails, Gray doesn't have to end his career on a sour note. That's the beauty of the extra year of eligibility. BOWEN RETURNS HEALTHY, MOTIVATED Bowen learned in the middle of last season that he tore the labrum in his right hip, but it wasn't an injury that forced him to be sidelined. He worked through the injury with extra treatment and attention to recovery before under- going surgery in January. Bowen was sidelined for most of spring practices while focusing on his rehab plan. "It feels great," Bowen told On3's Pete Nakos in July. "I worked really hard this spring with treatment and with the training staff to make sure I was ready. "In May, I used that as a building phase to get ready for the summer. Then we had a great summer with the strength coaches and the team, and everybody pushed me to get back and make sure I'm ready for fall camp." As a returning captain and two-year starter, Bowen focused his offseason leadership on learning from the mis- takes that led to early-season losses the past two years. "You can't go 0-2 to start the year and expect to be in the playoffs," Bowen told Nakos. "We did everything we could to put ourselves in that position, but at the end of the day, it didn't go our way. "So, the first thing was learning the lessons, and then using that to fuel us this spring, into summer, and now into fall camp. It left a not-great taste in ev- erybody's mouth about how last year went, as it should." No Notre Dame player has racked up more tackles the past two seasons than Bowen's 145 (78 in 2024 and 67 in 2025). He's been a consistent presence in a de- fense that will have even higher expec- tations this fall. Luke Talich, who contributed 25 tackles and 3 interceptions last season, has added some linebacker responsibilities in addition to his primary safety role. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER