Brock Bowers snap count and what it means moving forward

ATHENS, Ga. — Brock Bowers returned to the field on Saturday and played more snaps than any other Georgia offensive skill player in the Bulldogs’ 52-17 win over Ole Miss. Just 26 days removed from undergoing surgery on his left ankle, it absolutely was an aggressive approach for the star tight end, but it fell right in line with what Bowers wanted in his attempt to get back out on the field as soon as possible.

On Monday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked how he felt Bowers handled the workload, and whether there was room for more as time passes post-injury. Smart explained that Bowers has played more in other games and will play as much as he, the coaches, the doctors and all involved parties feel is possible.

“He didn’t play every snap of every game anyway,” Smart said. “You’d have to look at his snaps in other games. I’m sure he had more snaps in other games, but he’s in good shape. He’s conditioned.”

“I don’t know that he’s 100%, but he’s healthy and safe enough to play,” Smart continued. “We going to allow him to play as long as he wants to. He wanted to go out there and compete and play, and I don’t think it’s a matter of how many snaps he can take. I think he’ll be fine.”

Bowers caught three passes Saturday for 34 yards and a touchdown. It brings his season-long totals to 44 receptions, 601 yards and five touchdowns – all of which lead the team despite missing two games.

Smart will speak again with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, then having seen Georgia practice a pair of times in preparation for its game against Tennessee. He’ll almost certainly be asked about how Bowers is looking this week compared to last, and if it’s anything close to what the head coach was seeing even prior to his return, that’s great news for the Bulldogs.

“I was watching film of practice and there was a red blur back behind the play I was watching, about 20 yards behind it. It looked like a guy flying across the field, and I was like, ‘Who is that?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Brock.’ I knew we had a chance then,” Smart said Saturday night, asked about his expectations for Bowers coming into the contest against Ole Miss and what happened for him to be back on the field that quickly after surgery. “He’s just different. He took a path that no one takes on that injury and said, ‘This is what I’m doing.'”

“He was flying, but he didn’t have breaks,” Smart added. “He ran up on the wall by Stegeman on that side, and I was like, he couldn’t stop. But he was flying. I had to stop and go, who’s that? I literally thought he should be playing. But when I saw him struggle to stop, I knew. But every Sunday, he goes out, and I look outside my office window, and he’s out there running and flying around. The week we were at Florida, he was back walking and running faster than anybody we’ve had. But his protocol was more matched up with other people that have done it. He matched that. He beat the markers on all the kids we’ve had with the same injury because he was too stubborn to not do it. He did a great job.”

Georgia has the SEC East clinched already with a date set against Alabama for December 2nd in Atlanta with the conference title on the line, but the matchup between the Bulldogs and Volunteers this Saturday certainly still has implications.

“Every time we play Tennessee, it’ll probably be 3:30 CBS or 7:00 ESPN. It’s a big game every year we play Tennessee. They’re a good program, we’re a good program and the two are going to match up. As far as our focus on it, our players respect the hell out of Tennessee. They know how hard it is to play them. We had to play them up there two years ago, and it’s tough. It’s a tough prep. We’ll be focused.”

Kirby Smart’s squad can tie the all-time record for consecutive wins by an SEC team at 28 straight with a victory in Knoxville. Kickoff time at Neyland Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.