Georgia tight end Brock Bowers to miss time following shoulder surgery

Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers, fresh off a historic freshman season, recently underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and is expected to miss spring practice, as first reported by Rivals’ UGASports and confirmed by On3’s DawgsHQ.

DawgsHQ adds that while Bowers is expected to be sidelined for Georgia’s spring practice, the Bulldogs do anticipate his return by the start of 2022 fall camp.

Bowers was Georgia’s leading receiver and helped the Bulldogs win their first national championship since 1980. He finished the season with 56 receptions for 882 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, each of which were team-high totals, while rushing four times for 56 yards and another touchdown. Bowers’ performance saw him named an first team All-American by several outlets, while garnering second team honors from the Associated Press; moreover, he was named a consensus first team All-SEC tight end, the FWAA Freshman of the Year, AP Newcomer of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year.

Bowers had five multi-touchdown games in the 2021 regular season. Despite playing through a shoulder injury – which was later identified as a torn labrum – he was just as impactful in the postseason, too. Bowers reeled in 10 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown against Alabama in the SEC Championship game, and he scored a touchdown in each of Georgia’s three postseason games (SEC Championship, Orange Bowl and National Championship).

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart first identified Bowers’ injury after a 34-11 rout of No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl.

“He’s had a shoulder for a couple of weeks,” Smart said of Bowers heading into the national title game. “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.

“It’s not like it’s something new that just came up. It bothers him from time to time at practice,” Smart added. “He’s a football player. It’s not going to go away in season. A lot of our guys are dealing with that.”

Following Georgia’s 41-24 win over Alabama in the SEC Championship, a game in which Bowers posted a season-high 10 catches and a season-high 139 receiving yards, Alabama head coach sang high praise for the freshman star.

“I think this guy is one of the premier players in college football,” Saban said. “I know he’s just a freshman. But this guy’s got great size. He’s a good blocker. Physical. He’s tough. And he’s got wide receiver skills in every way, shape or form, which makes it difficult being a bigger guy for bigger guys to cover him and it makes it also difficult for smaller guys to cover him.

Bowers was a four-star recruit via the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The No. 2 tight end in the country, Bowers entered Georgia for his freshman season in 2021 with high expectations — and he delivered.