Brock Bowers likes the 'wrinkles' Mike Bobo brings to Georgia's offense
Georgia’s biggest offensive weapon confirmed on Tuesday what his head coach said a week prior. Mike Bobo will run an offense very similar to the one Todd Monken employed the past two seasons but not exactly the same.
Brock Bowers spoke with reporters after Georgia’s fourth spring practice where he discussed the similarities while pointing out, with a hint of excitement, what might be different.
“He’s been throwing a few wrinkles of his own in there,” Bowers said of Bobo. “He’s been doing a good job. We’ve kept most of the same terms, and he’s made it an easy transition for all of us. I like what he’s been doing. He’s thrown a few wrinkles in there that I like.”
Kirby Smart told us that was coming when he met with the UGA beat prior to the start of spring drills. He even used the term “wrinkles” while pointing out that the terminology would largely remain the same.
The consistent verbiage will undoubtedly help the players but that’s not the only reason the Bulldogs plan to adhere to it. Smart pointed out last week how run-game coordinator and running backs coach Dell McGee and tight ends coach Todd Hartley each had hands in building the offense that helped Georgia to two straight national championships.
Those two coaches are familiar with Bobo but Bryan McClendon and Stacey Searels are more than that. Those two, now entering the second season of their second stint at Georgia, have extensive experience working with Bobo.
But a substantial portion of the UGA fan base has trouble shaking what they saw from Bobo in Athens nine years ago. His final offense at Georgia before taking the head coaching job at Colorado State was the highest-scoring in school history, but it was very much run heavy. Why wouldn’t it be with guys like Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel leading the way?
It’s not the scoring that has those fans concerned. It’s the potential of an old-school, smashmouth approach rather than the gradually more wide open attack Monken gradually built over three years.
Smart does not share in those concerns.
“I think Mike has grown a lot since he went out to Colorado State and the time he has spent here,” Smart said on March 14. “I went against him at South Carolina, I went against him at Auburn, which gave me ultimate confidence that he would get this job done. We played them with probably the most talented defense I’ve been a part of and they went on a 16-play drive there at Auburn against us on the opening drive of the game. I just have a lot of confidence in his leadership skills and what he’ll be able to do offensively.”
