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Cal Football: Bears' Target Brock Bowers is Rated No. 1 Among H-Tight Ends by SI
Versatile tight end Brock Bowers from Napa continues to be a recruiting target for Cal.
Sports Illustrated validates the Bears’ interest by ranking Bowers the nation’s No. 1 tight end/H-back on its SI All-American team. SI makes a distinction between the hybrid H-tight end position and more traditional tight end and creates separate ratings lists, with the latter still to be announced.
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Here’s what SI’s Edwin Weathersby II had to say about the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Bowers:
Bowers checks in as our top H-Tight End prospect, as he grades out high in many positional factors. He can be successful attached as in-line seam-player, flexed to the slot, as a wing player, fullback and perimeter receiver. In fact, Bowers has even played running back and looked more than comfortable using change of direction ability, balance and quickness as a big runner. He shows good hands to pluck in the passing game, with good route-running traits and has speed to threaten in the RAC-phase. The California native also is a dynamic blocker from wing alignments, displaying strength to win early at the point and leg-churn to finish. Bowers’ versatility will allow him to offer a college offense formation flexibility as an ultimate H-back type with the ability to contribute to an offense as a receiver, blocker and runner.
Cal appears to be a longshot to secure Bowers, despite the fact that he resides just 39 miles from Berkeley and reportedly has made at least two visits to the campus. Georgia is regarded as a heavy favorite to land Bowers, with Oregon, Oregon State and Penn State among other schools in pursuit.
The recruiting website 247Sports rates Bowers as a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 3 tight end prospect. The site says he is 11th-best overall high school player in the state and the No. 92 prospect overall in the country.
Rivals has Bowers a bit lower on its lists, rating him the No. 6 tight end, the No. 106 overall prospect in the country and the 12th-best in California. Rivals also gives Bowers a four-star rating.
He would be Cal’s highest-rated player in the 2021 recruiting class if the Bears could land him. According to 247Sports, wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant of Flower Mound, Texas, is currently Cal’s most promising commit.
Rivals says the Bears’ top current commitment comes from another tight end, Jermaine Terry of Richmond High. Rivals gives a No. 13 positional rating to Terry, who has indicated he plans to skip his high school spring season to enroll mid-year at Cal.
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Stay tuned to see where SI rates Terry among its traditional tight ends.
Here’s the SI All-American team breakdown of Bowers:
Prospect: TE Brock Bowers
Projected Position: Tight End/H-back
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-3, 225 pounds
School: Napa (Calif.)
Schools of Interest: Georgia, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Penn State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Washington
Frame: Twitchy at 225, yet relatively lean. Will be a handful for defensive backs as a 250-pound pass catcher one day.
Athleticism: By the time he’s in college, Brock could step into most division-one programs and still be one of the top athletes in the room, period. Besides the plus ball skills, he’s got plus lateral quickness as seen through his reps at running back.
Instincts: As an integral part of Napa’s offense, Bowers was asked (and he delivered) to make plays from a variety of positions. His willingness as a “utility player” strengthened his understanding of each position’s pain points, allowing him to play that much faster by spending less time thinking and more time reacting.
Polish: Spent entire sophomore season positioned flexed out, spent his junior season in the endzone (via RB, Y-back, TE, and slot). Bowers may not be polished anywhere, but that’s likely part of the lure with him. Recruiters see a dynamic playmaker; some have even mentioned two-way potential.
Bottom Line: Brock Bowers is a versatile and efficient football player. From kick returns to kick-out blocks, Bowers's ability to help his team goes beyond his own stats, although both 1,500 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns for a tight end stick out like a sore thumb.
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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