Healthy Again, DB Peyton Bowen is Stepping Up On and Off the Field for Oklahoma

NORMAN — Peyton Bowen fought a tough mental battle during spring football.

Though he wanted to be on the practice field, he spent most of the time on the sidelines recovering after a sophomore season plagued by injury.

“It feels really good,” he said on Monday. “The past couple of seasons, I’ve run into the injury bug. 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 and learned how to battle through it. Sometimes, you have the battle through it… Sometimes, you have to sit a little bit.”

Bowen burst onto the scene as a freshman.

The former 5-star recruit blocked two punts, forced a fumble, broke up five passes, logged one sack and finished the year with 36 total tackles.

Bowen played 394 defensive snaps last year across 13 games per Pro Football Focus, finishing with 34 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, but he was limited virtually the entire season.

“I’m learning throughout the years that sometimes you have to sit that week and let your body heal,” Bowen said. “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.”

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Brent Venables’ defense needs Bowen to return to his best in 2025.

Robert Spears-Jennings is primed for another big year on the backend of the defense, but OU is light on experience behind Spears-Jennings without Bowen.

Sophomore Reggie Powers III has drawn excellent reviews throughout fall camp, but he played just 21 defensive snaps last year per PFF.

Bowen is entering his third year in Venables’ system, which is a time when things generally fall into place for veterans of the complicated system.

Oklahoma Sooners, Peyton Bowen — Oklahoma defensive back battled through foot pain to play in every contest in 2024. | John Reed-Imagn Images

“When I came in, I was getting to know a lot of different positions. That’s what was so hard for me,” Bowen said. “… I’m very thankful we did that because now I know all the positions around me, so I know what everyone is doing.

“So I can easily help out the cheetah if we're in a play and he's like, ‘What do I got?’ I can tell him easily or the corner in that sort of sense.”

Getting everyone organized is just part of Bowen’s growth as a leader on and off the field.

“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,” he 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.”

Bowen expects to be in the mix again on punt return, but he wants to play a central role in what he believes can be Venables’ best defense since he took over as head coach at Oklahoma.

“I think we have a lot of spunk,” Bowen said. “Like a lot of tenacity to us. A lot of willpower, 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.

“… 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.”