UGA Football: New Wideouts Becoming Top Targets

Freshman tight end Brock Bowers has very quickly become a big, productive part of the Georgia offense, an offense that through three games is showing that it’s quite happy slinging the ball around the field.

In Saturday’s 40-13 win over South Carolina at Sanford Stadium, Bowers again led the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs in receptions and targets. He was targeted eight times and finished with five catches for 53 yards, with 26 total yards after the catch. The Bulldogs’ first offensive play was a 21-yard strike from junior quarterback JT Daniels to an open Bowers moving toward the right sideline.

A speedy 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, as he dramatically demonstrated during his 89-yard touchdown against UAB last week when he outran everyone for about 79 yards, Bowers is from the outset of his career proving to be tough for defenses to handle.

“Oh yeah Brock is a horse,” senior offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer said last week. “Brock can run, with people normally that can run, they are pretty explosive. So, he is an explosive blocker. Really good at maintaining angles and just a really good guy to double team with and stuff. But yeah, man, Brock is a gifted athlete. And he showed that last week and I am sure he will continue to show it.”

After three games, Bowers leads Georgia with 14 receptions, including two touchdowns, and has a team-high 203 yards receiving. Sophomore wideout Jermaine Burton has eight catches for 173 yards and two scores, including Saturday’s 43-yarder in the first quarter. Also with eight catches for Georgia is senior running back James Cook, who is showing his versatility game after game. Cook scored on a 23-yard early against South Carolina and in the third quarter added a 4-yard receiving touchdown.

“JT played with a high level of confidence, believed in the guys and got them the ball,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after Daniels completed 23 of 31 passes for 303 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception

Daniels is playing with confidence and clearly has confidence in his receivers, despite playmakers like junior George Pickens and redshirt sophomore Dominick Blaylock still out while recovering from injuries.

As great as Bowers has been so far, he’s not the only new receiver making an impact. [Fun fact: As I was typing those words during the game Saturday night, Daniels hit Mitchell for the 38-yard touchdown.] It was the first TD catch of Mitchell’s UGA career but he’d been plenty busy already; it was his fourth reception of the game and his fifth target. He also had two catches for 42 yards against UAB. And if you want to go back further, the 6-4 Mitchell, no small target, had seven catches in the G-Day game after enrolling in the spring.

“He’s talented,” Smart said. “He has really good first-step quickness. He’s earned it. He’s made plays.”

After Georgia received the opening kickoff Saturday, Daniels hit Bowers for 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Daniels hit redshirt freshman receiver Ladd McConkey for a 12-yard gain. It was McConkey’s fourth catch of the season.

With Georgia up 7-3 in the first, Daniels lofted a pass down the right side to a wide-open Burton, who caught the ball inside the 5 and soon had his 43-yard TD, after scoring on a 73-yarder against UAB. On that six-play, 75-yard drive, Daniels also connected with Mitchell for 14 yards and completed to passes to Bowers. At halftime, Bowers and Mitchell had a combined nine receptions for 130 yards.

John FitzPatrick led the tight ends last season with 10 catches, and the position group as a whole caught 24 balls. It’s a new season with a new group, led by the dynamic Bowers. Back in 2018, Isaac Nauta was a very productive receiving tight end, catching 30 passes for 430 yards and three scores. Bowers is on pace to top that.

Pickens was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver as a freshman, in 2019, finishing with 49 for 727 yards and eight touchdowns. Pickens finished strong, catching 12 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the Sugar Bowl win over Baylor. It remains to be seen if Bowers can come close to Pickens’ big debut season, but he’s on his way.

Despite not having its full arsenal of receiving weapons, the Georgia passing game is showing how explosive and dangerous it can be. On Saturday, the Bulldogs threw for 307 yards on 35 attempts and gained a solid 184 yards rushing on 31 carries. For the season, Georgia has 818 yards passing and 468 on the ground.

No, the program known for its running backs and running prowess hasn’t become pass-happy this season — not really. The passing game is working in part because of the respect defenses have for Georgia’s ground attack. Also, Smart said, the passing game is more in sync right now.

“It’s not that they’re taking what they (the defense) give us, I just think we’re better right now at timing, throwing the ball, spacing and routes,” he said Saturday.

The way Daniels sees it, if the defenses are going to put his receivers in one-on-one matchups, as has been the case on a lot of Georgia’s big plays this season, the odds of success become way better than 50-50. That matchup “is giving us something,” he said.

“When they get one-on-one, to me, you are giving me a chance,” Daniels said, “and I like that chance with the guys that we have.”

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.