Brock Bowers included on ESPN top players, Feldman's freaks

Watch list season is over, and if you didn’t already know, Brock Bowers is expected to be among the nation’s best players. Included on lists for the Maxwell (best player), Mackey (tight end), Biletnikoff (wide receiver) and Walter Camp (best player), eyes across the country are going to be on the Georgia tight end this season.

Bowers was also included on a couple of lists released on Tuesday. ESPN named its top 100 players for the College Football season while Bruce Feldman of The Athletic shared his 101 “freakiest” players. Bowers came in at No. 2 and No. 49 respectively.

“Bowers has been a fixture at tight end since the day he arrived on Georgia’s campus,” the ESPN staff wrote. “He catches everything thrown his way, blocks with the same efficiency and runs like a running back both after the catch and when he’s taking a handoff. He has scored 24 touchdowns in his first two seasons (20 receiving and four rushing).”

“There are stronger and bigger tight ends, but none are more athletic, as evidenced by all the plays he makes for the Bulldogs,” Feldman added. “In 2022, the Napa, Calif., native had 63 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns, all team highs, but he also had 109 rushing yards on just nine carries. At 6-4, 240, Bowers can broad-jump 10-2, and his 36-inch vert would’ve tied for fourth-best among tight ends at the 2023 combine. His 40 time is somewhere in the 4.5s. Bowers also power-cleaned 355 pounds this offseason to go with a 485-pound squat and a 330-pound bench.”

Bowers, as both ESPN and Feldman write, has been incredibly productive in his two seasons at Georgia. After what’s expected to be another strong showing in 2023, he’s likely to hear his name called early in the 2024 NFL Draft next spring.

Despite the fact that he’s already drawing comparisons to greats of the next level, you won’t find Bowers looking ahead. As Kirby Smart and the Georgia coaches often say, he is where is feet are – in Athens – and attacks every day like it’s his last. You wouldn’t know that he’s accomplished anything up to this point by the way he works according to the coaches.

“As far as getting the best out of Brock Bowers, you’re going to get the best out of Brock Bowers every single day. He is not a guy that needs to be motivated. He is locked in in every meeting, every walk through,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.

“I had the good fortune of being able to sit in the tight end room last year and be able to see how he’s a guy that when Coach Hartley would mention it one time, he got it. He did not need a lot of reps,” Bobo continued. “He’s extremely smart, and he’s very humble. He reminds me a lot of a guy like Nick Chubb when I was here before that just went and worked every single day. He tried to get better no matter what he had done the day before, the game before, the year before. He was constantly trying to improve his craft. He’s a joy to coach, and I’m glad he’s a Georgia Bulldog.”

Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley, who had his fair share of praise for the star player too, said he has to all but pull Bowers out of drills in order to get the younger Bulldog tight ends reps in practice. Bowers will ask Hartley if he’s done something wrong or if there’s a reason he’s not in the drill.

“Yeah he’s talented. He’s extremely talented. He can run, he can jump, he can catch, he’s tough. What makes him special to me is his competitiveness. He is the ultimate competitor,” Hartley said. “The kid doesn’t want to lose at anything. And to be honest with you, I need to see Oscar Delp get reps. I need to see Lawson Luckie and Pearce Spurlin get reps. And when I take him off and limit some of his reps, he gets pissed off. He’s pissed off. He says ‘Well what did I do wrong?’ Nothing, buddy. Just stand right here. It’s okay.”

“You know what, you should want it that way,” Hartley continued. “Kids should be pissed off when they don’t get their reps. That tells you he wants to be great. I’m just thankful for the opportunity that I get to coach him. He’s such a great kid.”

Bowers was not the only Georgia player included on the lists. Running back Branson Robinson made Feldman’s Freaks at No. 41 while defensive lineman Mykel Williams (No. 10), linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (No. 24), safety Malaki Starks (No. 40), linebacker Smael Mondon (No. 41) and offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran (No. 42) also made the cut for ESPN.

The Bulldogs begin the season ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches Poll as they go for a third straight title. That pursuit starts at home on September 2nd against UT-Martin (6:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+/SECN+).