Georgia tight end Brock Bowers had been dealing with a shoulder injury to end the 2021 season. He was still able to play through it, catching a touchdown pass on Georgia’s final offensive play of the regular season.
But Bowers will now need that shoulder to heel. And he will miss spring practice because of it. Bowers will miss spring practice after having shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. UGASports.com was the first to report the news. The expectation is that Bowers will be good to go for fall camp.
“He’s had a shoulder for a couple of weeks,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the game against Michigan. “We’ve had him practicing in a black jersey limiting his contact some. He’s a tough dude, man, he’s a warrior. He wanted to get back in there tonight, and we just didn’t let him.”
Bowers is the third Bulldog to have labrum surgery this offseason, joining 2022 signees CJ Madden and Bear Alexander. The injury has become quite common during this time of the year, as linebackers Nakobe Dean, Micah Morris and MJ Sherman both missed last spring after having the surgery. Dean went on to win the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker.
Bowers led Georgia in every receiving category as a freshman, while also setting a school record with 13 touchdown receptions.
Related: Todd Hartley earns praise for development of star Georgia tight end Brock Bowers
In the absence of Bowers, Georgia will look to involve tight end Darnell Washington more this spring. Washington missed parts of the 2021 season due to a foot injury before finishing the year with 10 catches and 154 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs did lose tight end John FitzPatrick to the NFL draft but signed 4-star prospect Oscar Delp in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Delp is already on campus and will go through spring practice with the Bulldogs. Those practices should help Delp acclimate to the college level and put him in a position to possibly contribute early.
Related: Oscar Delp: The clever rewrite to a 1995 hit song his Mom rewrote for karaoke on his official visit
Georgia is set to start spring practice on March 15 and hold its annual G-Day game on April 16. Georgia opens the 2022 season on Sept. 3 when it takes on the Oregon Ducks.
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