Notre Dame LB commit Drayk Bowen wins HS Butkus Award
Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean class of 2023 linebacker and Notre Dame commit Drayk Bowen was announced as the high school Butkus Award winner, which goes to the top linebacker in the country.
“Drayk put together an outstanding senior campaign on both sides of the ball, particularly at linebacker,” Prep Football Report’s Tom Lemming, who is a part of the selection for the award, tweeted.
A few other Notre Dame players have won the award between the college and high school ranks. In 2020, Prince Kollie won the high school award, while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah took home the college honors. Manti Te’o (’08) and Jaylon Smith also won the award during their time at Notre Dame.
Many (La.) High’s Tackett Curtis (USC), Denton (Texas) Ryan’s Anthony Hill and Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln’s Raylen Wilson (Georgia) were the other finalists.
Instituted in 1985, The Butkus Award® is one of the elite individual honors in college football. In 2008, The Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, took stewardship of the award to fully realize the original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community while honoring the nation’s best high school, college, and professional linebackers. An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee comprised of 51 experts, including professional, college and high school scouts and prominent sports journalists, conduct the selection process.
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More honors for Drayk Bowen
MaxPreps named Bowen its 2022 Indiana High School Football Player of the Year.
He performed at a high level on both sides of the ball this fall, recording 144 total stops, 19 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 5 passes broken up, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 blocked punt. Offensively, he had 242 carries for 1,784 yards and 26 touchdowns, plus 10 receptions for 228 yards and 3 scores.
Bowen’s high school career was nothing short of sensational. In 55 career games, he recorded 379 tackles, 54 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 6 interceptions, 6 passes broken up, 6 fumble recoveries, 10 forced fumbles, 4 blocked punts and 3 blocked field goals. He also added a fumble recovery score and 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns across his career.
He didn’t play much offensively as a freshman and sophomore but did his final two seasons at the prep level. He ran 424 times for 2,969 yards with 49 touchdowns. He also caught 34 passes for 494 yards and 7 touchdowns.
He also amassed 379 tackles and 59 total touchdowns. Oh, and he also was his team’s punter for the past three seasons.
