Georgia gets three tight ends on watch list for Mackey Award
It probably doesn’t come as a big surprise to anybody that keeps up with College Football, but the Georgia Bulldogs are well represented on the watch list for the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end. Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington and Arik Gilbert all made the list of 54 tight ends to watch in 2022.
Last season as a freshman, Bowers caught 56 passes for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown on his first collegiate carry, yet another way that Todd Monken and company are working to get Bowers the ball. He holds the single-season records for a tight end in all three major receiving categories, his 13 touchdowns is the most of any single-season pass catcher in program history and he was named an All-SEC first teamer by the AP and Coaches, SEC Freshman/Newcomer of the Year by both groups, a First-Team All-American by USA Today, a Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press, a True Freshman All-American by ESPN and the national Freshman of the Year by both the Football Writers Association of America and the Maxwell Football Club.
Meanwhile, Washington played in 11 games last season after missing the first four due to injury. Of those 11, he started six and gives Georgia an offensive lineman-like blocker at tight end standing at 6-foot-7, 265 pounds. However, he also has the ability to make plays in the passing game. His first reception went for 25 yards. He had a 21-yarder against Kentucky and a 32-yarder against Florida, all within a three-game span. And all this comes one season after he rattled off receptions for 25, 26, 33, 36 and 38 yards. So, as you can see, when Washington gets the ball, it typically goes for a big play.
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Gilbert on the other hand has the skillset of a wide receiver at tight end. He stepped away from the team last season, but the year before, he had an impressive freshman campaign at LSU. Gilbert was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team, started all eight games in which he played and caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. Of his 35 catches, 24 went for a first down or touchdown. Of those 24, 11 came on either third or fourth down. Gilbert made his return to the football field this spring at Georgia with three catches on G-Day. Two of those ended in the end zone. The third went for 27 to help set up the game-winning field goal. If Gilbert can prove to be reliable, he’ll be a weapon on the offense.
Georgia is one of four schools with multiple players listed alongside South Carolina, Michigan and Penn State. The Bulldogs were the only program to have three players listed.
