Georgia RB Chauncey Bowens finding his way, earns first start

Redshirt freshman Chauncey Bowens took the first snaps on Saturday as the Bulldogs rolled to a 35-14 win over Kentucky. That was Bowens’ first start as a Georgia Bulldog.

It was a dream coming true.

“It was a good feeling, it’s something I dreamed of as a kid, being able to go out there first and kind of represent this program,” Bowens told reporters on Monday. “But I mean, it was a really good feeling, and I think everything went well.”

Bowens also didn’t have long to process his first start.

“I’ll probably say right before the game (is when I found out), my coach told me, he was like, yeah, we’re gonna start off with this and you’re going to be in,” Bowens said. “And just a good feeling, something I feel like I was prepared for, a moment I worked really hard for in the past, and just growing up. So it was a good feeling, but yeah, right before the game.”

RB is getting what he wanted from development at Georgia

Bowens ran for 70 yards on 15 carries on Saturday. He is also now Georgia’s leading rusher with 310 yards on the season through five games.

Bowens feels he has grown leaps and bounds in the year and a half he’s been in Athens. He was also 17 years old when he enrolled at Georgia. Bowens only turned 19 years old in July.

He feels his development comes from a few things. Bowens has caught up to the speed of college football. He’s developed physically with age and Georgia’s strength and conditioning program.

“I feel like I’ve always had a strong work ethic, like as a kid,” Bowens said. “But I mean, I was also very young, like I just turned 19 in July, so I think it’s just me just developing, getting older as a player. And just getting more experience and working out…

“That’s the reason why I came to Georgia, is to be developed and get quicker, faster, stronger,” Bowens continued. “I feel as if we have one of the best strength and conditioning staffs in the country. Actually, I take that back. I feel like we have the best strength and conditioning staff in the country. And we work really hard, trying to make sure that we do those type of things, and improve and develop players. So I’ll probably say, just going in the program and just listening and trying to do everything, get the most out of myself, that’s helped me improve.”

Chauncey Bowens and classmate Nate Frazier to form an elite tandem?

Georgia entered the season with Nate Frazier penciled in as the returning starter. Frazier has been productive as well so far this fall. He has 253 yards and two touchdowns in five games.

Frazier fumbled against Alabama. He did not carry the ball again against the Crimson Tide. He returned as the second man off the bench on Saturday and carried seven times for 34 yards.

Bowens has also been a supporter of Frazier.

“That’s my brother, on and off the field,” Bowens said. “So I look out for him, and things like that. I don’t want to, like, I know you said you believe it could be a mental issue. I don’t think it’s that. It just happened to be an unfortunate place where you have to ball at against Alabama. And the guy just made a really good hit. So stuff like that is bound to happen as a running back. And as we’ve seen, he’s really great, really electric. He’s an awesome player and an awesome guy to be around. So I don’t think it’s gonna be anything that you have to worry about in the future in terms of that. He’s worked really hard, and he’s practiced and done everything that we want him to do. So I’m looking forward to him being able to go out there and execute.”

Bowens also credits Frazier for his response over the last two weeks.

“I think what he’s done over the week kind of just shows what type of leader and what type of guy he is, in terms of him taking accountability and also working extremely hard on his ball security,” Bowens said. “And we’ve all taken notice of him. We’re all really proud of the progress he’s been making.”