Brock Bowers erupts again as a ‘freak athlete’ makes case as Georgia’s best tight end

Early on during the dog days of fall practice, Nolan Smith saw tight end Brock Bowers as a “little freshman” despite him being 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. He later viewed the former five-star prospect with a different lens.

Georgia ran punt drills during Tuesday practices. Head coach Kirby Smart takes plenty of pride in his special teams’ units, so those reps aren’t easy. Smith said (probably a bit hyperbolically) that the Bulldogs took 8,000 reps during the drill.

Smith exerts maximum effort in practice. He even said that he prefers to “push the envelope” and do more than asked. He looked over to Bowers, who worked on the same side during half-line punt drills. The freshman matched everything with every bit of effort, explosiveness and resilience.

“I said, ‘Son, this is where we make our money,’ ” Smith recalled. “He didn’t make one false step.”

Smith saw special qualities in Bowers at that moment. More of his teammates did, too, as the preseason progressed and a large group of Bulldogs raved about him. Everyone saw it many weeks later, and Bowers’ production hasn’t faded as the season reaches its one-third benchmark.

In No. 2 Georgia’s 62-0 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Bowers did it all. He caught four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns, which has become a familiar sight since he caught the first play for UGA (4-0, 2-0 SEC) from scrimmage to open the season against Clemson.

Bowers also showed off an offensive wrinkle. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken said, “You could hand the ball off to (Bowers) if you wanted” in August, because the California kid played running back at Napa High School. Georgia did, and Bowers scampered through for a 12-yard touchdown run.

Through four games, Bowers has 18 receptions and five total touchdowns.

“He’s different,” outside linebacker Adam Anderson said.

“He’s a freak athlete who can do anything on the field,” safety Christopher Smith said.

“He’s the most athletic tight end I’ve seen walk through here,” inside linebacker Channing Tindall said. “I’m going to keep saying it.”

Bowers has become a piece in Georgia’s offensive transformation, which has taken plenty of strides in the second season under Monken.

For those who haven’t watched the Bulldogs’ offense in a few years, it might be tough to understand how it operates. Georgia’s strength is the passing game with a number of playmakers to make it happen. Its run game, which the program had built its backbone on, has become a bit of a weakness (although not a glaring one).

The results have been in Georgia’s favor, especially over the past three weeks with 40-or-more points scored in each of those games. An integral piece to the success has been throwing to the tight ends. Georgia hasn’t done so at such a volume in quite a while, despite having the NFL talents of Isaac Nauta, Charlie Woerner and Tre’ McKitty.

Many thought Georgia would open it up with tight ends once Darnell Washington returned from a foot injury, but it has happened with Bowers. The freshman is trusted to get touches, and it has happened a lot. His early stretch of games has put Bowers in the lead to earn freshman All-American honors, and might even put him in the running to win the John Mackey Award — received by the nation’s top tight end.

“He’s better than I ever was,” said former Georgia tight end Benjamin Watson, who played in Athens from 2001-03 and went on to have a 16-year career in the NFL.

Georgia wouldn’t have had these performances from Bowers if not for another recruiting effort from Smart, tight ends coach Todd Hartley and the Bulldogs’ coaching staff. They found their gold over 2,000 miles away in California, a state where they’ve had a lot of success recruiting.

The Bowers family is one full of athletes. His mother, DeAnna, is in Utah State’s Hall of Fame as a softball player while his father, Warren, was an All-Big West center with the Aggies. His sister, Brianna, plays softball at Sacramento State. Georgia had quite the task to lure Bowers away from the West Coast.

Hartley spoke with the Bowers family on a daily basis, and then Smart checked in with the tight end weekly. Georgia had quick, positive impressions.

“We had to recruit his mother, his sister and his father. We just felt like we had a special player,” Smart said. “Once we got him, we realized it.”

After enrolling early, Smart said Bowers “isn’t really a freshman anymore.” He participated in spring practice and had time to learn the intricacies of the playbook.

He hasn’t been the “little freshman” for a while, and now the nation sees that each week.

“He’s everything you want in a tight end,” Christopher Smith said. “He’s done some great things for our team.”