Is there a chance Brock Bowers returns for Georgia football Saturday vs. Ole Miss?
Brock Bowers has had many wow moments playing for Georgia football until a high ankle sprain disrupted his junior season.
When the star tight end may return to the field has been a persistent question since he underwent TightRope surgery.
Coach Kirby Smart was asked Wednesday if there’s a chance Bowers could play in Saturday’s game for the No. 2 Bulldogs against No. 9 Ole Miss, just 26 days after the procedure.
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“Well, I think there’s a lot of markers he’s got to hit,” Smart said. “There’s more than just the marker of sheer speed. One of the first things you look at on this injury is acceleration and deceleration, not GPS speed. When your decel number and your accelearation numbers get closer to what your norm is, because we have a baseline for all these guys, then you feel much more comfortable about it. You have to get to that point. Straight-line speed is not football unfortunately. Maybe on kickoff or something else, but the other areas you’ve got to have that. He’s working towards that.”
Quarterback Tua Tagovaiola played for Alabama 27 days after TightRope surgery after the 2018 SEC championship game and 20 days after another on the other ankle in 2019, throwing for 418 yards in a 46-41 loss to LSU.
Georgia practices have been closed to the media since after the preseason so speculation on when Bowers might return is in overdrive.
“I’ve been watching him, he seems like he’s progressing fast,” wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint told reporters Tuesday. “He’s been running. I heard he hit like some high speed, 19 or 20 or something like that. He’s progressing. He’s looking to get back. We’re excited for him to get back on the field because we definitely miss him on the field.”
Bowers still leads Georgia with 41 catches for 567 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“I’ve never seen a person work as hard as he’s worked to try to create an opportunity for himself,” Smart said.
Smart has been asked for Bowers updates every day this game week.
“He's doing all he can in terms of trying to get himself in shape and get better,” Smart said Tuesday night after practice. “I mean, he's back running now on dry land and we're hoping that he keeps getting better. That's this kind of the MO on this injury, you know, every kid we've had so far that's had it: week one they do this, week two they do this, week three they do that. He's right on schedule for the things he's been doing."
Offensive tackle Amarius Mims underwent TightRope surgery and has yet to play more than seven weeks later.
As for the pain tolerance players experience when returning from the surgery, Smart mentioned several current Bulldogs who have undergone the procedure.
“Some guys say it hurts worse than others,” Smart said. “[Lawson] Luckie shared his experiences with Brock and Ja [Jamaal Jarrett] had two of them. Cash [Jones] had one. Now Mims obviously had one. So, from what I hear, it's more painful in the beginning and it's like a roller coaster ride. It has its ups and downs and moments, and you continue to push through it, and you get better as you go."
Smart was asked Wednesday how he balances whether Bowers is ready to play against his future as a possible top 5 overall NFL draft pick.
“I don’t think we put the future at stake at risk at all,” Smart said. “That’s a medical decision. We’ve got a great staff here. We’ve got unbelievable doctors, the surgeon who did the surgery. All those things are taken into account in terms of that. They have boxes you check and when you check the boxes, it turns back to the player and what their comfort level is and then it turns to the coaches to how effective they can be. Those things have to all be checked off before you can even go there.
Smart said “what it boils down to is can he help us win and is he comfortable with that and do we think he can do the things he has to do to be able to help us do it. He’s got to hit those numbers and check all those boxes.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Could Brock Bowers return back for Georgia football vs. Ole Miss?
