Oregon Ducks, Notre Dame, Cal Pushing For 4-Star EDGE Recruit Troy Bowens

Bowens spoke with 247Sports about what stood out to him while on his visit to Eugene. The Ducks are currently battling it out with Cal and Notre Dame for the California native.

"The three things that stood out to me were the facilities, the campus, and how the environment looked," said Bowens. "These were important to me because the facilities and campus are where the magic will happen, I'll be there the most, and I absolutely love both of them. The environment is also great, the weather is awesome, and everything is green, which is my favorite color."

The No. 24 edge rusher and No. 21 player in the state of California according to 247Sports rankings, Bowens said the Ducks' coaching staff were among the bright spots he encountered on his visit at Oregon.

"I was able to talk to many coaches, Tosh Lupoi, Dan Lanning, D-line coach, edge coach, and many other ones. Many of them talked to me about Oregon itself, how they coach, and what they do," said Bowens. "The Ducks are number one on my interest right now. They mark all my boxes, and they have been the best to me, and the coaches are outstanding."

Greg Biggins of 247Sports said that Bowens could develop into one of the best players into his class due to his high ceiling and production numbers. This past season, Bowens accumulated 76 tackles and 13.5 sacks.

"Bowens is a big framed edge who probably projects best as a 3-4 end or moving inside in a four-man front. He’s a productive player with positional versatility and even played some receiver as a freshman before playing solely on defense as a sophomore. He has good straight line quickness and closes well on the football...there’s plenty of long term upside here," Biggins said.

During the Lanning tenure, the Ducks have had success recruiting the edge rusher position. In the 2025 recruiting cycle, Oregon signed a pair of four-star edges in Matthew Johnson and Tobi Haastrup.

The cycle prior in 2024, the Ducks' highest rated signee was five-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing, who ranked as the No. 3 edge rusher and No. 1 player in the state of Arizona according to 247Sports' rankings.

After a slow start to the year when it comes to recruiting, the Ducks have began to pick up some traction after a commitment from 2026 edge rusher Richard Wesley over the weekend. What will the summer have in store for Lanning and the Ducks?