Kirby Smart provides Brock Bowers injury update ahead of national championship

Georgia has been dealt with multiple injuries throughout the college football season, and the health of the team is going to be an important factor heading into the next Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game between the No. 3 ranked Bulldogs and No. 1 Alabama.

In what will be a rematch of the SEC championship game, a contest in which Alabama won 41-24, the Georgia could be without multiple players due to injuries. While Kirby Smart was already down six guys for the season with a few others being listed as questionable heading into last week’s Orange Bowl semifinal game against No. 2 Michigan, Georgia was dealt with more injuries during the game – most notably to tight end Brock Bowers.

Bowers – who’s one of the Bulldogs’ most important players – had been battling a shoulder injury for a few weeks coming into the team’s College Football Playoff semifinal and banged it up even more against Michigan. He finished the game with six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, but only one of those receptions came in the second half as he had to leave the game and didn’t return in the team’s dominant 34-11 win.

Smart said after the game that Bowers had been limited in practice last week leading into the Orange Bowl and added that the tight end wanted to return to the game after exiting and being checked out in the medical tent, but Georgia ultimately decided to keep him sidelined out of precaution.

While Bowers has been battling through his shoulder injury, Georgia has also dealt with injuries to left tackle Jamaree Salyer (foot), safety Christopher Smith (knee) and wide receivers George Pickens (torn ACL) and Ladd McConkey (undisclosed).

Smart: ‘Brock Bowers is good’

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart met with the media Monday and provided an update on the health of his Bulldogs team – highlighted by Brock Bowers – one week out from the College Football Playoff national championship game against SEC foe Alabama.

“Brock Bowers is good,” Smart said. “He was good in the game. That same shoulder has bothered him all year, to be honest. It’s not something new that came up. It bothers him time-to-time at practice. It’s something you have to deal with.”

No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia are scheduled to kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana with ESPN will be carrying the national broadcast. The Bulldogs are three-point favorites, with the over/under set at 52.5 total points.