Brock Bowers earns unanimous All-American status with AFCA selection

With the announcement of the All-American selections by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), tight end Brock Bowers is officially the 16th unanimously selected All-American in Georgia Football history. Bowers, a junior out of Napa, Calif., joins a list that includes the likes of Herschel Walker, Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi and Garrison Hearst, among more recent examples as well. To earn the title in 2023, a player must be selected to the first team by five organizations: Walter Camp, Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and the AFCA.

Totaling 56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns, Bowers managed to lead the team in all three categories for the third straight season. He did all of that in just 10 games of action, missing time due to an ankle injury suffered midseason that required surgery. In doing so, Bowers won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end for the second straight, becoming the first player in the award’s history to do so.

GEORGIA UNANIMOUS ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS
Frank Sinkwich (1942)
Charley Trippi (1946)
Royce Smith (1971)
Herschel Walker (1980, 1981, 1982)
Garrison Hearst (1992)
Drew Butler (2009)
Jarvis Jones (2012)
Roquan Smith (2017)
Andrew Thomas (2019)
Jordan Davis (2021)
Nakobe Dean (2021)
Jalen Carter (2022)
Christopher Smith (2022)
Brock Bowers (2023)

Bowers has been an impactful player for the Bulldogs since his arrival in Athens in 2021. A freshman out of Napa, Calif., he stepped in and led the team in receiving with with 56 catches, 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. Not only was he named an All-American and National Freshman of the Year for his efforts, but Bowers also managed to break school records for in-season receiving touchdowns regardless of positions, plus catches and yards for a tight end.

Things didn’t slow down for Bowers in 2022 either. An outstanding sophomore season saw him top his totals from the previous year (63 receptions, 942 receiving yards) on his way to All-American nods and Georgia’s first-ever Mackey Award. On top of what Bowers did as a receiver, he also added to his stats as a runner with 109 yards and three trips to the end zone on the ground to bring his total over 1,000 yards and to 10 touchdowns. He once again finished first on the team in all three receiving categories.

Many looked to Bowers’ 2023 season as the one that might give Georgia just its second 1,000-yard receiver, and for some time he was on pace to do so. Against Auburn, Bowers scored the game-winning touchdown as part of a career-high 157-yard day. He also had big outings against UAB and Kentucky before suffering a sprained ankle against Vanderbilt in mid-October.

Bowers underwent tightrope surgery to repair the injury, missing two games, and while he returned in almost no time (26 days to be exact), he couldn’t quite get back to being the same player as he was before. Still, only playing in 10 games, Bowers managed to match his reception total (56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns) from a 15-game 2021 campaign and finished the season as Georgia’s top receiver for the third straight season, the first Bulldog to do so since AJ Green (2008-10).

Bowers has not officially declared for the draft, but is expected to do so, and his status for the Orange Bowl has yet to be announced either. However, if he doesn’t catch another ball in red and black, he’ll certainly go down as one of the greatest to ever suit up at Georgia, ranking third in career receptions (175), fifth in receiving yards (2,538) and second in touchdowns caught (26).

ALL-AMERICAN NOTES

*** Sophomore safety Malaki Starks was one first-team selection away from unanimous honors. He made the first-team for all but Sporting News. He was a second-team selection for them.

*** Center Sedrick Van Pran was a second-team selection for all five of the choosing organizations. Jackson Powers-Johnson of Oregon was a unanimous All-American as the first-team selection for all five.

*** Guard Tate Ratledge earned a Second-Team All-American selection from the Associated Press. He was the only Bulldog outside of Bowers, Starks and Van Pran selected to any squad.