Notre Dame Fighting Irish captain Drayk Bowen will miss today’s game against No. 1 Miami, sidelined by a significant right ankle injury.
Notre Dame’s leading tackler and defensive signal-caller is gone just as the country’s highest-scoring offense arrives, and nobody can say when he’ll be back.
The injury happened late in the first half of Notre Dame’s 35-13 win over Navy on Oct. 31 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. On a goal-line stop of Navy quarterback Jackson Gutierrez, Bowen got caught in a pile as several players landed on him, including Navy left tackle Sean Crowley, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 293 pounds.
Bowen pounded the turf in apparent pain, limped off with a trainer’s help and never returned. He watched the second half in street clothes and left the field wearing a walking boot.
The injury is “significant,” according to USA Today reporter John Brice. Notre Dame ruled him out on Nov. 2 and has set no return date beyond an extended absence.
“Somebody fell on his ankle. It was a pile,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said, according to ESPN. Freeman framed it as a routine football play.
Notre Dame Linebacker Drayk Bowen’s Draft Outlook
Bowen, 22, hails from St. John, Indiana, and played linebacker and running back at Andrean High School. As a senior in 2022, he made 144 tackles, five sacks and three interceptions on defense while rushing for 1,784 yards and 26 touchdowns. His honors included the Butkus Award as the nation’s top high school linebacker, Indiana Mr. Football, two Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year awards and All-American Bowl Defensive Player of the Year.
A consensus 4-star recruit, Bowen became a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2024 and carried 36 consecutive starts into the Navy game. He leads the Irish with 45 tackles this season, plus a fumble-recovery touchdown. He has more than 200 career tackles and 4.5 sacks.
He is a two-time team captain and was named a Butkus Award semifinalist this season. He also made the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list and drew preseason All-America mentions.
Bowen is eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft, where scouts mostly place him in the fifth or sixth round, with some boards ranking him 146th to 186th overall.
The profile is a physical, downhill middle linebacker with good size, listed at 6-foot-2 and about 234 pounds, who defends the run, tackles reliably and leads. Coverage skills and range against the pass limit his ceiling.
Notre Dame Defense Without Drayk Bowen vs. Miami
Bowen is also the green-dot player who wears the radio helmet connecting the huddle to defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Freeman downplayed that loss, noting that the noise at Notre Dame Stadium makes the radio largely a backup system.
Junior Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, back from thumb and wrist issues, is expected to take over green-dot duties, with senior Jaiden Ausberry, who has done it before, and other linebackers sharing snaps.
Miami’s offense averages nearly 48 points and 535 yards a game. Notre Dame still fields the nation’s top total defense, but it is thinner without safety Brauntae Johnson and cornerback DJ McKinney, who are also out. Miami’s star receiver, Malachi Toney, is expected to miss at least four weeks with an ankle injury.
Miami (8-0) beat Notre Dame (7-1) in last year’s opener, an outcome that kept the Irish out of the playoff. Notre Dame sits fourth in the AP poll but landed at No. 11 in the first playoff rankings.
Now the Irish find out whether a defense built around its captain can hold without him. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Why Is Notre Dame’s Leading Tackler Drayk Bowen Out vs. Miami?