ATHENS — Brock Bowers was angry. Not about the ankle injury that forced him to have TightRope surgery. Injuries happen in football.
What had the Georgia tight end so revved up was that agents were calling him and telling him not to return from the injury.
To not come back and play football for the University of Georgia.
“Those people will not be representing him, I can promise you that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “All it did was piss him off. He said, ‘I had people calling and telling me I shouldn’t play, Coach. He said, ‘That just drives me crazy. It makes me want to play more to prove them wrong.’
Bowers did that on Saturday night, to the surprise of no one who actually takes the time to know Bowers. Just 26 days after his ankle surgery, Bowers returned to the field in Georgia’s 52-17 win over Ole Miss.
He caught 3 passes for 34 yards. His final play of the night, in what was likely his final game in Sanford Stadium, was an 8-yard touchdown catch to put Georgia 45-14.
His first catch in Sanford Stadium as a freshman was also a touchdown.
“We knew it,” quarterback Carson Beck said of the touchdown pass. “Yeah, I knew we were about scoring.”
For a player who has done so many marvelous things during Georgia’s career, Saturday night is just another addition to Bower’s legacy. Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagavoila came back from the same surgery in 27 days.
Bowers found a way to top that, as he so often has during his Georgia career.
“I was watching film of practice and there was a red blur back behind the play I was watching, about 20 yards behind it,” Smart said. “It looked like a guy flying across the field, and I was like, ‘Who is that?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Brock.’ I knew we had a chance then. He’s just different. He took a path that no one takes on that injury and said, ‘This is what I’m doing.’
“He beat the markers on all the kids we’ve had with the same injury because he was too stubborn to not do it. He did a great job.”
All Bowers did was what teammates have seen him do every day in practice for the past three years. From the moment he first got on campus to the first summer workouts where he was dusting everyone in wind sprints, all Bowers did was go as hard as he possibly could. In addition to being the team’s best player, he is also its hardest-working.
Kendall Milton a few weeks back compared Bowers to Lebron James. That comparison came up once again, even if Bowers’ maniacal work ethic and competitiveness are closer to that of Michael Jordan.
“We call him Lebron, he’s one of the greatest ever,” Javon Bullard said. “Just a true Dawg man. Hell of a person on and off the field. I’m proud of him. I’m glad we got to see him out the right.”
When Bowers first came out and took place in warmups on Saturday, there was a buzz in the stadium. When Bowers’ was announced as a starter on the video board, you’d be forgiven if you thought Taylor Swift had been on the field ready to watch the show.
Bowers’ impact on the Georgia program extends far behind what he’s done in games. As great as that has been, Saturday showed what Bowers means to the entire program. From the fan base to the fellow players.
It was not lost on the Georgia offense that this is the first time it had Bowers, Ladd McConkey and Amarius Mims out on the field. Georgia had its best offensive performance of the season as it had 611 yards of offense.
“It’s huge,” Ladd McConkey said. “He’s the best player in the country when he’s healthy and getting out. Super thankful to have him back out there.”
Georgia didn’t need Bowers to be the best player in the country to win on Saturday. His presence alone helped open things up for the rest of the offense, with Kendall Milton having the best game of his career and McConkey leading Georgia in receiving once again.
Bowers wasn’t 100 percent on Saturday. Beck thought he might be limited to a third-down role. Teammates weren’t 100 percent sure he would play on Saturday.
The junior tight end might be slowed but Saturday showed once again that he can’t be stopped. Not be opposing defense and not be the human body.
“It’s crazy. He just got out of surgery,” Milton said. “Running, doing all types of stuff. ‘I’m like Brock, does that hurt?’ And he’s like no, ‘I’m good, I’m good.’ That’s just the attitude he has, that’s the person he is.”
