Auburn Football: Tigers make Final-12 for 2023 5-star LB

Jeff Schmedding is tasked with one of the hardest jobs on the new Auburn football staff, because he must replace an Auburn legend in Travis Williams as the new linebackers coach for the Tigers. Williams set the bar high by landing 5-star Owen Pappoe and countless other talented linebackers throughout his time at Auburn, but Schmedding looks to be making his own impact on the recruiting trail.

Drayk Bowen is one of the top Auburn football defensive prospects in the 2023 recruiting cycle and he released his Top-12 teams on Twitter this afternoon and the Tigers made the cut for the talented 5-star.

Bowen is a 5-star linebacker out of Merrillville, Indiana and ranks as the #25 overall player and #1 linebacker in the nation for the 2023 recruiting class. Bowen has racked up over 130 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 5 fumble recoveries in his two years at Andrean High School. He was selected as a 2020 All-State player this past season and was also selected to be an Under Armour All-American next season.

Right now, Bowen is projected to have Notre Dame as his leader by several experts at 247Sports, but this recruitment is far from over. Bowen is also strongly considering Michigan, Tennessee, Clemson, NC State, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and LSU in his recruitment.

Bowen visited the Plains back on June 24th and caught up Steve Wiltfong from 247Sports to talk about his visit and the new Auburn football staff:

"“Coach (Jeff) Schmedding was very fun to be around all day and I enjoyed getting to learn from him for a little bit when we sat down in his office. He gave us all the details from what he’s learned about Auburn and how he coaches his linebackers. Coach (Derek) Mason and Coach Schmedding work very well together because they took their defenses and combined them.”“Coach (Bryan) Harsin was very cool to talk to and told us all about their team’s philosophy and that they want the family atmosphere but the work that comes with it. Overall the visit was great and I’m sure we’ll be back down there for a game.”"

Coach Schmedding and Coach Harsin are quietly keeping the Tigers in the mix for the top prospects across the country in the 2022 and 2023 class, so stay tuned as the commitments begin to roll into the Plains.