Kirby Smart responds to how Georgia will handle Brock Bowers, Xavier Truss ankle injuries

Georgia fans held their collective breath when Brock Bowers went down with an injury against Vanderbilt and didn’t return. To add insult to injury, offensive lineman Xavier Truss also left the game, and Kirby Smart said both players suffered ankle sprains.

But Smart said he’s not panicking about either player. It’s all part of the game, and he said he’s not worrying about either player more than the other. Both injuries will be handled the same way.

“The same thing it does when Truss does. Same thing it does when any player does,” Smart said of his concern about Bowers. “We worry about our players all the time. I think Christian Miller went down, too. There’s not a lot you can do. It’s the game of football, right? They’re gonna play tackle and you’re gonna get injured and you’re gonna have bumps and bruises, you’re going to have injuries. We’re not going to overreact to it. Thinking about Brock, but I think he’ll be fine.”

Smart confirmed Bowers’ X-Rays were negative on his ankle, which he injured in the second quarter of Georgia’s 37-20 victory over Vanderbilt. The next step is to get an MRI done to see how bad the sprain is, and Bowers and Truss will both undergo further testing this week.

“It’s an ankle sprain,” Smart said. “Don’t know how severe. X-Rayed it, and X-Rays were negative. It looked like it was lower, but we don’t know. Until we get an MRI, we won’t know, him or Truss. Same thing. Both of them are ankle sprains.”

What Brock Bowers’ absence would mean for Georgia

So far this season Bowers, has 37 receptions for 545 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also added four carries for seven yards and a touchdown on the ground. His absence would be significant for a Georgia offense that has relied on him to make key plays in the biggest moments.

After a relatively slow start to the first half of the season, Bowers turned it on in the last three weeks. He had recorded at least seven catches and 120 yards in each of the last three contests, scoring at least once in each of them.

He had even begun to earn more Heisman Trophy consideration from the likes of On3’s experts, as well as others nationally. According to BetMGM, Bowers’ Heisman odds were +3000 entering Week 7 of the college football season.