Nick Saban explains how to prepare for Georgia offense with Brock Bowers uncertainty

Alabama‘s SEC Championship matchup with Georgia on Saturday is loaded with star power, but the status of the game’s potentially biggest star is still in question.

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers missed the Bulldogs’ last game of the season due to ankle soreness in what would have been his third game back from a procedure he underwent earlier in the season.

Bowers has been the Bulldogs’ leading receiver this season despite missing some time due to his ankle injury, and his status being uncertain led to Alabama head coach Nick Saban being asked how the Crimson Tide have been preparing to face, or not face, the star tight end. But before Saban spoke on Bowers, he gave some high praise to the player responsible for getting the ball to him, quarterback Carson Beck.

“Georgia’s got a really really good offensive team, and the quarterback obviously does a fantastic job whether they’re running the ball, carrying out fakes, play action passes, drop back passes, I mean he is very efficient and effective in everything he does,” Saban said about Beck. “He’s very accurate with the ball, he’s smart, throws at the right place. So he does a great job of implementation of exactly what they want to do and they have a really really good scheme.”

Beck has had a stellar first season under center for the Bulldogs, ranking within the top three of the SEC leaderboards in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completion percentage this season. He’s been able to remain consistent this year whether Bowers is or is not in the lineup, but there’s no question that Georgia’s offense as a whole is better when he’s a part of the puzzle.

“And obviously Brock Bowers is a really really good player, probably the best player at his position in the country,” Saban admitted. “I’m assuming that he will play in the game, I don’t know any different than that, and he’s a mismatch issue. But he’s also a good blocker and a really good competitor, so it’s not only his pass catching ability, it’s his ability to do all the things that really good football players do and he does them all at a high level.”

Both Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey have missed significant time this season, only playing alongside each other at full health in a handful of games. But regardless, Saban has still been impressed with what he’s seen from Georgia’s offense this season regarding their weapons in the passing game.

“Well both those guys are really good players so obviously they’re very dynamic. But I will say this, the players who have played for those guys, and this speaks to the depth of Georgia’s team, (number) 4 is a really good tight end and has done a really really good job. 1, 86, 5, the other receivers that have played, they’ve done a really good job and they’re really really good players,” Saban explained. “So those two guys are fantastic players in their own right and they’re very productive, but the players who have stepped up and taken their place have done a really really good job as well.”

Both Georgia and Alabama possess two of the most talented rosters across the entire college football landscape. But the availability of specific playmakers for the Bulldogs will definitely play a significant role in Saturday’s championship game, which kicks off at 4:00 p.m. ET and airs on CBS.