Alabama Defense Preparing for Elite Mismatch in Georgia TE Brock Bowers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban always refers to good tight ends as mismatches because of the way they challenge a defense. Cornerbacks are often undersized against a tight end, but linebackers are often too slow. And there might be no bigger mismatch in college football than Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

"He's elite," Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said. "It's definitely a challenge. He moves like a receiver. He's not a typical tight end that you'd see. It'll be something we have to work (on) throughout the week and we look forward to it."

Bowers was a popular topic among Crimson Tide players and Saban during Monday's media availabilities as No. 8 Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC) prepares to face No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0 SEC) in the SEC championship game this Saturday. Despite missing three games this season with an ankle injury, Bowers is still the Bulldogs' leading receiver with 661 yards and six touchdowns.

Two years ago, when the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs met twice within the span of three games, Bowers was a major problem for the Alabama defense. In the 2021 SEC championship game, he was the highlight for Georgia in a 41-24 loss. Bowers picked apart the Alabama defense, finishing with 10 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. A few weeks later in the national title, Alabama held him to four catches for 36 yards, but he did have a crucial touchdown to build the Bulldog lead in the fourth quarter.

The junior tight end did not play last week in Georgia's win over Georgia Tech, but Kirby Smart said Bowers was close to being ready to play, just a little sore. He initially went down with an ankle injury on Oct. 14 against Vanderbilt and had the tightrope surgery performed on his ankle. Bowers made his return Nov. 11 against Ole Miss and also played against Tennessee before sitting out last Saturday at Georgia Tech.

On Monday, Saban said they are preparing as if Bowers will play.

"Brock Bowers is a really, really good player," Saban said. "Probably the best player at his position in the country. I'm assuming that he will play in the game. I don't know any different than that. He's a mismatch issue, but he's also a good blocker and a really good competitor so it's not only his pass-catching ability, it's his ability to do all the things that really good football players do. And he does them all at a high level."

Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore got to see the Georgia tight end up close and personal two years ago. Moore said he sees Bowers playing a similar role to what Travis Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL.

"He's definitely challenging, you know a tight end like that that can do multiple things," Moore said. "He's a tight end when he's split out at receiver he's receiver so we have to know what's coming when he lines up in certain positions. It's gonna be a tough week of preparing for him. But we're gonna go out there, do our best to execute the calls that are made."

Georgia junior wide receiver Ladd McConkey has also missed a lot of time with injury this season. Even with missing some of their key playmakers, the Bulldogs have barely missed a beat offensively. Junior quarterback Carson Beck is second in the SEC in passing yards (3,495) and third in touchdowns (22), picking up right where Stetson Bennett left off.

Saban was very complimentary of their offense overall. Georgia has the seventh best scoring offense, averaging almost 40 points per game. Alabama has the 14th best scoring defense and has only allowed an opponent to score 30 or more points one time in the week two loss against Texas.

Alabama has shown a lot of improvement on both sides of the ball since that loss to Texas, and the defense is prepared for another challenge against No. 1 Georgia.

"They’re one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country in terms of yards, points, ability to run, ability to pass," Saban said. "They've got good players at every position. Defensively, they're the number one team in the SEC. Got good players, well coached, do a really, really good job. And they also do a great job on special teams. They've got good specialists. This is a team that doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. That's why they are who they are and what they are. And it's gonna be really important for us to do a great job of executing and do what we do the best that we can do it.”