Brock Bowers reflects on how Kirby Smart, Georgia prepared him for NFL

From the minute he stepped on campus at Georgia as a freshman, Brock Bowers looked the part as a future NFL tight end. He seemingly did it all in Athens as the centerpiece of the offense, and after three years with the Bulldogs, will hear his name called in this month’s NFL Draft.

The projected first-round pick knows just how important it was to play at Georgia and develop under Kirby Smart, though.

“We go against NFL dudes all day every day at practice,” Bowers told SEC Network’s Taylor Davis during Saturday’s G-Day spring game. “You can see it every year, we pump out [picks]. It prepares you every single day.”

Practice wasn’t easy for Bowers going against one of the nation’s top defenses each year he was at Georgia. His freshman year was likely the toughest, though. That team – which ended a 40-year national championship drought – saw a record five players from the defense go in the first round of the draft.

All told, in Bowers’ three years at Georgia, he watched as 26 of his teammates became NFL Draft picks. He gave credit for that success to Smart, who strives to get the most out of his players however he can.

“He pushed us every single day super hard,” Bowers said. “There’s no better coach in the nation, I feel like. He did everything he could in his power to make us better even if that was pushing us even if we didn’t want to be pushed.”

Brock Bowers looks back on ‘all the winning we did’

Bowers had a decorated career at Georgia from 2021-23, totaling 2,538 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns as he became the first player to ever win back-to-back Mackey Awards. Of course, there’s also the two rings he got by helping lead UGA to two straight national championships.

In total, Georgia had a 42-2 record with two national titles in Bowers’ three years with the program. That’s a lot of winning – and it’s what will stick with him as he takes his talents to the next level.

“Oh, man, it was unbelievable,” Bowers said. “I mean, everything I got to experience, all the winning we did, it was awesome. Two national championships, couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Bowers is widely projected to be a top-15 pick in the draft, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. recently had him going to the New York Jets with the No. 10 overall selection in his latest mock draft. He will find out where he’ll officially end up on April 26 when the 2024 NFL Draft gets underway from Detroit.