ATHENS — Brock Bowers became the first Georgia player in history to be named the John Mackey Award winner as the nation’s top tight end on Thursday night.
Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta were the other two finalists, and an ESPN expert had predicted the Fighting Irish player would win the award.
Bowers, the nation’s FWAA Freshman of the Year last season and a first-team All-SEC pick, leads the Bulldogs with 52 catches for 726 yards this season and six touchdowns.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken, a finalist for the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the nation, has utilized Bowers in several capacities.
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“Coach Monken gets him involved in everything from handoff sweeps to I don’t know if he’s thrown the ball yet, but I’m sure he will,’ LSU Coach Brian Kelly said last week.
“He’s just a versatile player. He’s a guy that can break games open.”
SEC legend and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow said Bowers is different than most tight ends.
“It’s helpful when you can hit a tunnel screen to your tight end and he can take it 80 yards,” Tebow said. “Most (tight ends) can take 8.”
Indeed, Bowers has Georgia’s longest run of the season, a 75-yard burst.
Bowers’ skills are to the extent that Alabama coach Nick Saban went out of his way to praise him last season.
“This guy’s got great size, he’s a good blocker, physical, (and) he’s tough,” said Saban, who watched Bowers catch 10 passes against Alabama for 139 yards in the SEC title game and then helped put the CFP Championship Game on ice with a 15-yard TD catch with 3:33 remaining.
“He’s got wide receiver skills in every way, shape or form … this guy is just a phenomenal football player all the way around.”
