Brock Bowers is Already the Greatest Tight End in Georgia History
The University of Georgia is one of the most storied and prolific producers of talent in the history of college football. The school is one of four institutions that is able to claim five No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft, the most recent coming earlier this year when Jacksonville selected Travon Walker with the first pick.
Since taking over as head coach, Kirby Smart has not only maintained that production but increased it. Georgia became the first school to have fifteen players selected in a single draft since the NFL moved to the current seven-round version.
That production won’t be slowing down anytime in the near future with the talent the Bulldogs currently have. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter seems a lock to be a top-ten pick following this season, and sophomore tight end Brock Bowers should be Georgia’s highest-selected skill position player since AJ Green went fourth in the 2011 Draft.
Bowers, through just 25 games, is already Georgia’s all-time leader for receiving yards by a tight end with 1,497 yards. He surpassed Orson Charles for that mantle with his 154-yard performance against Florida. He won't turn 20 until December.
Overall, Brock Bowers is 19th in receiving yardage in Georgia history. Projecting out over Georgia’s remaining four, potentially five, games (at Kentucky, Georgia Tech, SEC Championship, Bowl, National Championship), if you add Bowers’ current average yardage per game of 59.8, he should be very close to catching Terry Godwin (1,800) for 15th by year's end. Take that same average, and project it out over next year’s regular season, and Bowers could easily find himself inside of Georgia's top five receivers of all time.
The 105th overall recruit in the 2021 class per 247 Sports, Brock Bowers has been one of the key figures in an offensive revitalization for the Bulldogs. It hasn’t been a revolution. Georgia had exciting offenses in the past, led by the likes of Eric Zeier, David Greene, DJ Shockley, and Aaron Murray, but up until offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s arrival in 2020, Kirby Smart’s teams lacked explosion. That changed rapidly, and the arrival of Bowers was a big reason why.
Putting Bowers’ impact into perspective can be difficult. It doesn’t feel like it does him justice. Currently, Bowers is averaging 15.8 yards per catch. AJ Green’s average at Georgia? 15.8. He has twice as many career touchdowns (21) as Georgia legends Randy McMichael (10) and Leonard Pope (10) combined. Speaking of tight ends, Bowers is just 115 yards short of matching George Kittle and Travis Kelce’s combined total of 1,612 receiving yards.
He’s already the greatest tight end in Georgia history. The stats by themself bare that out. The game-clinching touchdown in the national championship solidify it. What remains to be seen is how highly he can climb in the pantheon of Georgia legends.
Brock Bowers is a talent of the same ilk as players like Todd Gurley, Champ Bailey, and Richard Seymour. He’s going to a star in the NFL, but before then he’ll be terrifying defenses for another year, adding more trophies to Georgia’s shelves, and demolishing records.
You can follow Christian Goeckel on Twitter: @Goeckelsports
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