Notre Dame Captain Drayk Bowen: ‘We Want to Play Violent, Downhill, Fast’

Offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and a hip procedure might set some athletes back from their pre-injury status.

Drayk Bowen is different.

The Notre Dame senior linebacker not only returned to the field earlier than expected this spring, but Bowen believes he’s a better athlete because of the procedures.

“For me, my movement in space has been a lot better since I had my hip surgery,” Bowen stated. “I was able to unlock a lot more things that I wasn’t able to do last year with the way everything was going on with my hip.” 

The Indiana native might have missed much of spring ball, but he may have gotten more out of the experience from the sideline than he would have had he been on the field.

Bowen has started at Mike linebacker the last two seasons, which meant there wasn’t much time to step back and watch how Notre Dame’s defense operates across all three levels.

That changed this spring.

“Being able to watch it from a coach's vantage point and seeing how everything works together,” Bowen said when asked where he is a better player. “Just a better understanding of the defense, better understanding of what the D-Line is doing in certain calls and movement, and how I can play off of that. Understanding what teams will hit us with in different coverages.” 

The two-time Notre Dame captain can now turn his attention toward what matters most: playing a game.

It’s no secret the offseason has been long and drama-filled, but now Notre Dame has a chance to set the tone for the 2026 campaign Sunday evening.

“We want to start fast,” said Bowen. “That means starting fast in practice, starting fast on this week and that’s going to carry over. When I think this team has a mindset of ‘we’re going to go out there, we’re going to do what it takes’. I don’t think anyone on this team has ever thought that we’re not going to start fast. We’re going to go out there and do what we need to do, and I think that’s from top down. 

“Coach Freeman has echoed it, both coordinators have echoed it, and so I think it’s built into our program as ‘Hey, we’re going to go.’” 

As for Wisconsin, Notre Dame must show discipline as the Badgers feature a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in Colton Joseph. 

In 2025, Joseph was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after totaling 2,624 passing yards, 1,007 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns at Old Dominion. 

“We know he’s got some wheels,” explained Bowen. “He can run. It's just going to be one of those things where he’s going to run it. It's not something where you can just make him stop running it because he’s just going to do it. You know he’s fast, you know he’s going to want the ball in his hands, you know they're going to want the ball to be in his hands.

“It’s just something you've got to be ready for, to prepare for, to go out and execute. Whenever the time comes, when he gets the ball, we’re going to have to be the ones to make the play.” 

Bowen has been there and done that.

He knows it’s unlikely Notre Dame will completely bottle up a quarterback like Joseph. He’s going to make plays. The important part is how the Irish respond when he does.

A year ago, Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green made a few big plays against Notre Dame, but the Irish eventually locked in and didn’t allow him to dictate the game.

The same mentality will be necessary Sunday.

“We've got to do our job and make sure we try to cage him up as much as possible,” Bowen said. “It’s not going to happen every time. It’s hard with those guys. He’s going to find a way to make a play, to escape, to do something. We have to do our best to try and keep him in the pocket, try to take his legs away as much as possible. It’s not always going to happen, but try to do it as much as possible.” 

Wisconsin might have more than 30 transfers and it’s anyone’s guess exactly what schemes and personnel the Badgers will roll out.

For Notre Dame, the answer is simple. Play its brand of football and everything else should take care of itself.

“Honestly, just playing our brand of football,” said Bowen. “We want to play violent, downhill, fast and if we see that on Sunday, then you’ll know we executed and did our job.” 

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