Kirby Smart reveals conversation with Brock Bowers after surgery

Some unfortunate news came out of Athens on Monday as Georgia‘s star tight end Brock Bowers had to undergo ankle surgery following an injury suffered in the Bulldogs’ Week 6 win over Vanderbilt. Bowers had a tight-rope procedure done on his left ankle Monday after a high ankle sprain that will cause him to miss multiple weeks of action for the defending back-to-back national champions.

The on-the-field impact of Bowers’ injury is crucial to the team’s success, but what’s more important is how the All-American tight end is feeling, which head coach Kirby Smart revealed in a recent press conference.

“Brock Bowers is great, Brock Bowers is rock solid,” Smart said. “He wanted to get the thing done as soon as he found out it had to be done. We were able to expedite that process and he’s great. He’s looking everybody in the eye today and wishing he could be out there. So he’s in great spirits, he’s got great family, he’s got great heart, I mean he’s a warrior, so he’ll handle it the right way.”

Bowers leads the Bulldogs in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns this season, and leads all tight ends in the nation in two of those categories. He’s the focal point of Georgia’s offensive attack, but when Smart was asked about his empathy specifically to Bowers the person following his surgery, he made it clear he doesn’t play favorites.

“It’s hard on me for Amarius Mims, you know? It’s hard on me for Lawson Luckie, it’s hard on me for Branson Robinson, and I don’t mean that in any negative way towards Brock. But there’s a lot of guys on our team that have been dinged up and hurt. I mean Ty Ingram-Dawkins hadn’t been able to go the entire year, I mean he went one game I guess and then we had to shut him down,” Smart explained.

Injuries are one of the most unfortunate parts of football and athletics in general, whether they’re suffered by four-year starters or redshirt freshmen who haven’t touched the field yet. And although the beloved Bowers is likely one of the last players that Smart and Georgia’s fans wanted to see go down, the Bulldogs’ head man hates when it happens to any of his players equally.

“So Brock’s aware that other guys have to deal with this too and we have I think one time seven or eight starters that had been out and I have empathy for all of them,” Smart said. “Not one more than the other, I don’t look at Brock’s as more significant because he’s a greater player asset, they all have value. We got walk-on kids that are having to have surgery so it’s tough anytime a player loses practice time and play time.”

It will be interesting to see how Georgia’s offense fares without Bowers with five games remaining on their regular season schedule, as he’ll look to make a comeback during what would be the team’s most important games of the season.