Could Irish Baseball Commit Become Irish Football Commit?

Notre Dame doesn’t really have to convince Jase Bowen‍ to come to its school. Bowen has already made that decision. The Irish football coaches just need to decide if they’re going to offer him a scholarship.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Toledo has already accepted a baseball scholarship from Notre Dame head coach Mik Aoki.

“I visited there and talked with Ryan Smoyer, who is from my area and was on the team last year for the Irish,” explained Bowen, who plays shortstop and outfield. “We were talking, I asked him some questions about the University and the coaching staff. He had some good insight for me.

“Academics is really big for me and my family. I take a lot of pride in that. I just feel Notre Dame is the place for that and I also wanted to be set up with a 40-year plan, not just a four-year plan. I wanted something that was the best for my future and Notre Dame was the place for me.”

But now, Bowen is receiving interest as a safety on the football field. He picked up an offer to play football at Toledo last week, but says he’s locked in with Notre Dame.

“Some other schools have been trying to contact me, but I’m trying to limit that as I’m 100 percent with my decision right now,” he said.

Bowen, who plays at the same Central Catholic High School program that produced DeShone Kizer, is interested in playing both sports in South Bend.

“They’re both really big for me,” he said. “I have lots of fun in both. I feel like it can be done as some of the Irish greats have done like (Jeff) Samardzija, Golden Tate, Torii Hunter Jr., so hopefully it works out.

“I’ve actually been in contact with Coach Aoki about this. Coach (Mike) Elston and him are really good friends. They said they communicated about it and would be cool with it.”

Bowen worked out for the football staff at a one-day camp this summer and the Irish have shown a continued interest. Per NCAA rules, if Bowen were to play both sports as a scholarship athlete, the scholarship would count toward the football program.

He was back in South Bend this past weekend for the Georgia game.

“It went great,” he said. “I had a great time.

“We got to go through the Gug. We got to see the game room and walk through there with the coaches’ offices and meeting rooms and stuff like that. That was really cool. After that, we got to see the practice facilities and walk around the campus a little bit. We got to the tent, where we got to eat and talk to other recruits about how their process has been going and some of the other commits, like (Phil) Jurkovec. Other than that, we got to go to the Players Walk.”

It was Bowen’s first-ever Notre Dame football game.

“That was cool to see,” he said. “I got to watch the game and be on the field, which was awesome. I got to see both the baseball guys and the football guys. That was another thing I was looking forward to doing. We had great seats. We had first-row seats. We got to see the game from a great angle. It was a helluva game, just a one play difference.”

Elston is his main contact within the Notre Dame football program.

“He’s an Ohio recruiting guy,” Bowen explained. “Me and him are pretty close with each other. He’s telling me to keep playing hard and stay in contact. He’s going to come watch some games and go from there.

“I’ll probably go back for another visit as soon as I can. After they come to some games, maybe it’ll escalate from there. Right now, I’m just trying to build a better relationship with Coach Elston and the coaching staff.”

Bowen reiterated that he’s going to Notre Dame, the only question is whether he’ll play both sports or just one.

“Yes sir.”