ATHENS — Georgia hasn’t completely missed Brock Bowers since the star tight end went down with an ankle injury against Vanderbilt.
TightRope surgery has kept Bowers out of the wins against Florida and Missouri. Traditionally, the injury takes four to six weeks to recover.
And while Smart has still not put a timeline on Bowers’ potential return, the Georgia coach did provide an update on how the star tight end is recovering.
“He’s working hard. He’s doing all he can in terms of trying to get himself in shape and get better,” Smart said. “I mean, he’s back running now on dry land. I mean, we’re hopeful that he keeps getting better. I mean, that’s kind of the MO on this injury. Every kid we’ve had so far that’s had it, Week 1 they do this, Week 2 they do this, Week 3 they do that, and Week 4 — I mean, he’s right on schedule for the things he’s been doing.”
Georgia is accustomed to dealing with players who have had this injury and thus surgery. Tight end Lawson Luckie had it earlier this year and was back roughly six weeks following the injury.
But sometimes it can take longer. Amarius Mims had the surgery following the game against South Carolina. It has now been seven weeks since that injury and he has not returned yet for Georgia.
“Some guys say it hurts worse than others. I mean, Luckie shared his experiences with Brock,” Smart said. “Jah’s (Jamaal Jarrett) had two of them. Cash (Jones) has had one. Mims has obviously had one, so from what I hear it’s more painful in the beginning. It’s like a rollercoaster ride: it has its ups and downs and moments. You continue to push through it, and you get better as you go.”
That Bowers is back running isn’t news, as he was doing so late last week. His brace was noticeably smaller when standing on the sideline against Missouri.
Teammate Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint did provide some positive news in terms of how Bowers is doing in his recovery.
“Brock has been looking good. I’ve been watching him, it seems like he’s progressing. I still don’t know anything,” Rosemy-Jacksaint said. “I just know that he’s been running. I heard he hit some high speed, 19, 20, something like that. He’s progressing. He’s looking to get back. We’re excited for him to get back on the field because you know we definitely miss him on the field. We’re just hoping and waiting.”
With Bowers out, Ladd McConkey has had his two best games of the season and emerged as Carson Beck’s new top target. Tight end Oscar Delp caught a touchdown in the win over Missouri as well. Bowers though still leads all tight ends in college football in receptions and receiving yards
Bowers’ presence, even if it is not a full workload, would be huge for Georgia ahead of Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. The Rebels are the No. 9 ranked team in the most recent College Football Playoff. A win over the Rebels would also clinch a berth in the SEC championship game.
Georgia though could have the SEC East wrapped up prior to kickoff, as a Missouri win over Tennessee would also clinch the division for the Bulldogs.
We’ll learn a lot more about Bowers on Saturday, as the Bulldogs and Rebels are set for a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN.
