The 2025 season didn’t end the way Notre Dame hoped, but the decision not to participate in the Pop-Tarts Bowl allowed the Fighting Irish to get a jump on preparations for 2026.
Several Notre Dame players were banged up throughout the season, and captain Drayk Bowen was among them, according to a source.
Bowen, who started all 12 games for the Irish, played through a torn labrum in his hip for a significant portion of the year and recently underwent surgery at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, to correct the injury.
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker didn’t let the injury slow him down, finishing the season with 67 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, including his 14-tackle performance against Boston College.
Bowen is expected to miss most of the spring while recovering, but there is little concern surrounding his availability for Notre Dame’s summer program. Notre Dame was likely to limit his spring workload regardless as this will be his fourth spring in South Bend.
His absence will open the door for Madden Faraimo and others to receive valuable reps at Mike linebacker, a positive development for a program focused on building depth at the position. Bowen will enter his third season as Notre Dame’s starting Mike in 2026, making it critical for Chris Ash and Al Washington to develop his eventual replacement ahead of the 2027 season.
Bowen will enter the 2026 campaign with 159 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
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