According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers will undergo tightrope surgery on his injured ankle and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks of college football action.
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Georgia All-American TE Brock Bowers is having tightrope surgery on his injured ankle, the school announces, and he's expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 16, 2023
The projected top tight end for the 2024 NFL Draft and a potential top pick, Bowers injured his ankle on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the second quarter.
Hope Brock Bowers is okay after limping off but I don't get the no knee pad when you're a tight end looking at many millions from the NFL next year. pic.twitter.com/Rl7httQHOt
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 14, 2023
As you can see in the play, Bowers stutter stepped but was tackled around the legs/ankle was he went out of bounds. The tackle came from Vanderbilt backup safety Savion Riley.
After this, he was seen limping before lying down on the field.
The Georgia training staff is taking a look at Brock Bowers. pic.twitter.com/8UlzP62Vkx
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 14, 2023
Following the injury, Georgia released a statement.
"Brock Bowers sustained a high ankle sprain during the Vanderbilt game in Nashville over the weekend. Surgery will be performed today (Oct. 16) to stabilize the ankle and a full recovery is anticipated."
With Bowers sidelined, the Bulldogs will turn to sophomore Oscar Delp and freshman Lawson Luckie.
This season, Delp has 13 receptions for 160 yards and two scores. Luckie hasn't recorded a single reception.
The Bulldogs beat the Commodores 37-20 and have a bye week in Week 8. Upon returning, they'll face the Florida Gators in Florida. With the four-to-six-week timeline, this could sideline Bowers for the remainder of the regular season, as they have five games left and the bye week. So, there's a chance he could be back for the College Football Playoff or the College Football National Championship.
Bowers has 41 receptions for 567 yards and four touchdowns to this point. Last season, with Stetson Bennett at quarterback, Bowers had 63 receptions for 942 yards and seven touchdowns.
When Bowers burst onto the scene, though, was a freshman. He had 13 touchdowns on 56 receptions.
If this is the end of Bowers' season, he'll likely enter the NFL Draft and be a contender for, at the very least, a first-round draft choice.
