JD PicKell: Brock Bowers deserves to be in the Heisman conversation

It is time: Brock Bowers should be in the Heisman discussion. With long odds to win the award still (+20000), On3’s JD PicKell is standing on the table for the Georgia tight end after his highlight-packed performance against South Carolina on Saturday.

Bowers, a sophomore, has 10 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns plus an end around run for a touchdown through three games. And beyond just the raw stats, Bowers has shown off his elite pass catching ability, absurd athleticism and speed in space, and brute force — he is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, after all. PicKell, on “The Hard Count,” went to bat for Bowers.

“So Brock Bowers is +20000 in terms of his odds to win the Heisman trophy,” PicKell said. “And I don’t know about you, but after what I saw against South Carolina from No. 19, we need to start having this conversation, because he had three touchdowns, he looked like a created player out there, he’s going to light up the stat sheet and he is, for my money, the best player on Georgia’s football team. I know he’s only a sophomore. I understand Stetson Bennett’s the quarterback. But my eyes work just fine and he’s the best player on that team.”

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It’ll be an uphill battle for any tight end to win the Heisman, of course. Bowers obviously has a long ways to go based on the odds. But one thing that certainly helps is stat stuffing, which PicKell thinks Kirby Smart and Georgia will be happy to do, should the opportunities present themselves.

“So, let’s just say he were to beat the +20000 odds and he does win the Heisman trophy, how could this happen? What would have to happen?” PicKell said, posing the hypothetical. “Well first and foremost, they’re finding creative ways to get him the football. Case-in-point: They ran that reverse to him on that goal line. You can call a reverse to your skill players, typically it’s going to be to a wide receiver who is really fast or maybe a running back lines up in the slot, you get him the football. They the reverse to the tight end. Kirby is going to find creative ways to get him the football. And I guarantee you if he finds himself in that Heisman trophy conversation, they’re going to continue to force the issue and pad those stats.

“Don’t believe me? Look at last year. Remember Jordan Davis? Big defensive lineman? He was kind of on that Heisman bubble for a minute. They lined him up in the backfield, got him an offensive touchdown. So how does that look for Brock Bowers as the year carries on? We’ll see. But I’m just telling you, if you don’t think that Kirby Smart even cares a little bit, just a teensy bit about his guy getting the Heisman trophy, I think you’re wrong. Now, is it going to take precedent over gameplan? Absolutely not. But if they have opportunity to force feed him the ball and pad his stats, they’re going to do that”

Plus, Georgia should win double-digit games easily. It’s not a necessity but it certainly makes it easier to get to New York when ones team is winning, and Georgia should do just that, in Bowers’ case.

“On top of this, Georgia is going to win enough games to get him to New York. We know how this works. The best player on the best team wins the Heisman trophy. Will Georgia be the best team at the end of the year? For Brock Bowers’ sake, I hope so,” PicKell said.