drayk bowen, leonard moore on nagurski watchlist
Notre Dame defenders continue to receive admiration and buzz from the success of the Fighting Irish defense over the past three seasons. The latest recognition is courtesy of the Bronko Nagurski Award, which has linebacker Drayk Bowen and cornerback Leonard Moore on its preseason Watch List.
The Nagurski Trophy goes to the nation’s top all-around defensive player, and the award found it’s way to South Bend in 2023 when it went to Notre Dame star safety Xavier Watts. Bowen and Moore are the two returners getting the most preseason recognition as the Irish look to have another star win that honor.
Bowen excelled as a first-year starter in 2024 and he took control on the Mike linebacker position under now ex-defensive coordinator Al Golden, and became a vocal leader for the defense. He finished third on the Irish defense with 78 tackles while ranking 7th on the defense in snaps. By the end of the season Bowen was a clear leader of the Irish defense. He played his best football of the season during the final stretch, racking up 22 tackles in the final three playoff games, including 8 in both the Orange Bowl win over Penn State and 8 in the title game loss to Ohio State.
Bowen was listed as a preseason All-American by Phil Steele.
Moore is widely considered the best returning cornerback in college football and projects as a future first-round NFL draft pick. He was a star as a freshman earning Defensive Freshman of the Year honors from the Football Writers Association of America. He tallied 48 tackles, picked off two passes and broke up 11 more during his dynamic rookie season. Heading into his sophomore season, Moore is expected to be one of the top defenders in the nation, regardless of position.
Five Notre Dame opponents also made the Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Miami (Fla.) defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., Texas A&M cornerback Will Lee, Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis, Navy defensive tackle Landon Robinson and Boise State defensive Jayden Virgin-Morgan all made the list.
Shaun M. Davis
teammates Joey o’brien and grayson mckeough took different paths to nd
The roller coaster recruitment for 6-4 195-pound five-star defensive back Joey O’Brien of Glenside (Pa.) LaSalle College Prep reached a conclusion when he picked Notre Dame on June 20th over finalists Oregon, Penn State, and Clemson. At one point, all four programs were perceived as possible leaders for O’Brien. His teammate, 6-7 285-pound pass blocker Grayson McKeough, who chose the Fighting Irish over Penn State, had a totally different path to his commitment to Notre Dame and their head coach,Brett Gordon, witnessed both journeys as a confidant and advisor.
“All four schools did a great job recruiting Joey,” Gordon said. “The coaches did a great job of showing him how they would develop and use him. Joey really liked all the schools, coaches and players, but it came down to what school felt like home for him.”
Originally, the Pennsylvania Player of the Year was scheduled to take his official visit to South Bend on June 20th but decided to switch to the weekend of June 13th, which happened to be the same as his teammate four-star offensive lineman Grayson McKeough, who also eventually committed to the Fighting Irish. At the same time, he announced that his decision would now take place on June 20th , leaving the fanbases of the finalists pondering about where their teams stood in the recruitment.
“I don’t think he was leaning anywhere going into the Notre Dame visit,” Gordon said. “I told him that he was being recruited by the blue bloods with tradition, and great coaching. So, whatever school felt like the place he wanted to spend the next four years of his life would be the determining factor.
“The date change was to help make things easier,” Gordon continued. He wanted to take all five official visits, but I thought that was too much. Joey and his family were thorough in the five unofficials, and taking five officials was too much, so the Tennessee one was dropped and that’s why the Notre Dame visit was moved.”
The Fighting Irish seemed to take over in his recruitment as his June 13th official visit approached. His teammate, 5-star defensive back Joey O’Brien would be visiting on the same weekend after a late change to his schedule. Although they would travel different paths to South Bend on that weekend, they would leave with similar feelings about the visit that led both to commit to the program on June 18th and June 20th respectively.
“Grayson’s path was different from Joey’s,” Gordon explained. “Two different scenarios. Everyone was in the mix with Joey going into the official visits. Grayson was probably leaning Notre Dame going into the visit. The visit helped him make his decision. Joey had already set his decision date for June 20th, two weeks before the visit. Grayson didn’t have a set date, but he was ready to make his decision once he got back.
“It was a great visit,” Gordon continued. “Being around the other recruits and current players was big for him. He spoke about brotherhood and how comfortable he felt. Him and Joey kept using the word “family” when they talked about the visit.”
Landing the talented teammates shows great cohesiveness in the Notre Dame recruiting operation right now, and the success of the June 13th recruiting weekend could lead to more additions to an already impressive top 5 class.
Shaun M. Davis