Simmons Scoop: Georgia has the edge for 4-star LB Troy Bowles

Tampa Jesuit four-star linebacker Troy Bowles recruitment is nearing its end, but the journey has not been a simple one.

“This one’s seen a few shifts,” On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons said on The Simmons Scoop.

Bowles, who is making his decision this weekend at the Future 50 event in Florida, is down to Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Simmons put in an On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine pick late last month for Bowles, and is sticking by it.

“I think a consistent team that’s been up there has been Georgia,” Simmons said. “A lot of the predictions for Georgia awhile back and I still feel pretty good about that pick for the Bulldogs.”

While Georgia has been consistently at or near the top of Bowles’, the teams around the Bulldogs have switched in recent weeks.

“But at one time it looked to be Ohio State and Georgia,” Simmons said. “Now I’m hearing more about Oklahoma late and Georgia coming down to it. Talking to Troy recently said, he’s not 100% there yet with his decision, but he’s very close. I think it comes down to Georgia, Oklahoma. I give the edge still to the Bulldogs for Troy Bowles.”

Troy Bowles is an elite linebacker

Troy Bowles is the No. 57 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He is the second ranked linebacker in the class after Denton (Texas) Ryan five-star prospect Anthony Hill.

Bowles currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $153k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Troy Bowles is the son of Todd Bowles, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.