Peyton Bowen fully healthy, ready to lead in Year 3
NORMAN — Injuries weren’t typically part of the equation for Peyton Bowen before he arrived at Oklahoma. If he was ever injured during his time at Guyer High School, Bowen found ways to keep playing at an elite level.
But it’s been a different story for him in his first two seasons with the Sooners.
The former five-star prospect has had no problems playing time, but lingering issues affected his snap counts in both of his first two seasons. In 2023, Bowen played 191 snaps through the first six games before he was limited to just 112 snaps over the final six contests of the regular season. It was a similar story last season — 215 snaps over the first six games, 131 over the last six games. That final regular-season stretch included a career-low four snaps played against Ole Miss, per Pro Football Focus.
He’s appeared in all 26 possible games through two seasons, so the injuries haven’t kept him completely out of the mix. But foot issues, including turf toe and sprained ankles, have kept him from reaching his full potential. So last spring, Bowen learned to sit out and rest his body.
“The past couple of seasons, I’ve run into the injury bug,” Bowen said. “That’s not something I ran into in high school and stuff. I was usually healthy to a point, playing through the bumps and bruises. My senior year, had my hand and labrum (injuries) and learned how to battle through it. Sometimes, you have the battle-through-it type of injuries. Sometimes, you have to sit a little bit. Personally, I’m learning throughout the years that sometimes you have to sit that week and let your body heal.
“Now that I know that? Resting that sprain was a really good decision for me. I still had my foot lingering. Now I feel 100 percent, no icks in there. I feel really good about going into this season.”
Bowen is fully healthy going into this season, and that’s very encouraging news for the Sooners.
Even with the injuries, Bowen still found ways to be productive. He’s tallied 70 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack through his first two seasons. He’s made several key plays, including his sack against UCF that helped seal the win and his hit on Quinn Ewers that forced a fumble. But injuries have kept him from fully finding his confidence on the field.
“In high school, I could get away with it,” Bowen said. “I had to go up against a dude like Johntay Cook with a torn labrum and broken hand, had to trust my feet. Now that I’m at this higher level, I’m like, dang, can I really do that with a sprained ankle? That’s where I would say it messed with my confidence a little bit. I’m still able to go out there and not let my teammates down whenever I was out on that field no matter what shape I was in.”
Bowen is hoping this year can be a game changer. He’s fighting for the starting spot at strong safety next to Robert Spears-Jennings, and he’s focusing more on being a leader to a safety position that includes a ton of young players.
“I feel like the first couple of years that I was cool with being the fun guy and just having fun and this and that,” Bowen said. “Now, I’m stepping into that older guy role. I don’t think I’m that old, but I have to step into that role and mature and be vocal. Bring these guys up for practice, for lifts, for walkthroughs, be that energy source.”
Spears-Jennings is predicting a big season for Bowen.
“That’s my dog right there,” Spears-Jennings said at SEC Media Days. “We’re gonna take take the SEC by storm, for sure. I feel like this year’s gonna be a great year for him, like he’s gonna get to just playing football… Just having fun with it, man. Just seeing him coming to practice every day with a smile on his face, loving the game, that just brings joy to me.”
If the Sooners hope to take a step forward in 2025, both as a defense and as a team, a fully-healthy Bowen is a key part of the formula. After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Bowen thinks he can be part of Brent Venables’ best defense yet at Oklahoma.
“I think we have a lot of spunk,” Bowen said. “Like, a lot of tenacity to us. A lot of will-power in a sense and a lot of physicality from all angles. We’ve got corners that love to hit. We’ve got safeties that love to hit. Our D-line is one of the best in the country. Our linebackers all are coached by the best dude and just had Danny Stutsman ultimately to kind of guide them. And so I think this could be one of the best.
“But time will tell and we’ve just got to go out there and show that.”
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