Brock Bowers had the same question as a lot of Georgia fans upon learning that Mike Bobo would assume the role of offensive coordinator after Todd Monken left to join the Baltimore Ravens.
Would he be used the same way?
“I definitely thought about that when he first came,” Bowers said after practice on Tuesday. “But Bobo has been around the tight end room a lot through last year. I guess we’ll see what happens this year. I would hope to be utilized the same way I was in Monken’s offense.”
Don’t get Bowers wrong.
Per the junior, the former Bulldog quarterback spent a lot of his time as an analyst inside the tight end room with position coach Todd Hartley.
“I love Coach Bobo. He was always around, creating a good vibe,” Bowers said. “He’s really smart when it comes to dealing with the offensive side of the ball.”
He also believes that Bobo's familiarity with the players will help everyone involved.
“I think it was good having him come in last year,” Bowers said. “Everyone got used to him being around, with his personality. It’s not like we’re bringing in somebody with a brand-new face, not knowing a thing about it. He knew all of us, so that kind of helped the transition, too.”
Neither Bulldog fans nor Bowers likely has to worry about his role changing to any significant degree.
Although there one can expect some subtle tweaks, getting the ball to Bowers in as many ways possible is undoubtedly going to be part of the plan.
How can it not?
With 119 career catches for 1,842 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns, Bowers has long since blown away what used to be the top standards for a Bulldog tight end.
With a year just comparable to the past two, Bowers can move into the top 10 all-time receivers in receiving touchdowns, catches, and yardage.
He’s just 777 yards away from AJ Green at No. 3 in receiving yards (2,619), 63 catches away from Brice Hunter at No. 2 in receptions (182), and 10 touchdowns away from Terrence Edwards at No. 1 in career touchdown catches.
The fact Bowers would have accomplished all that in just three years before presumably moving on to the NFL is nothing short of mind-boggling.
“He does the same thing every day,” fellow junior and Bulldog cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “He worked hard, ran hard; He’s not that big of a vocal guy, but when you watch him, he’s always leading by example, and I think that’s what helps make him a great player. He’s just willing to do the things it takes to be great.”
From the sound of it, that’s not about to change.
Bowers said he still wants to get stronger and focus on details like route-running and being more dominant as a blocker in the run game.
“We’re going to miss Darnell, who’s going to be a first-round pick,” Bowers said. “Obviously, we’re going to take a little bit of a hit there. But Oscar (Delp) has come in, he’s put on a little bit of weight; he’s been blocking pretty good so far this camp, and trying to sustain, trying to fill that role.”
Although replacing Washington is physically impossible considering neither the Bulldogs nor many other teams have tight ends 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, Bowers said it’s unclear if his absence will mean less 12-personnel this fall.
“It’s still too early to tell; there’s still a lot of development to go,” Bowers said. “Dom (Dominic Lovett) and RaRa (Thomas) are still trying to get it figured out, it's still swimming in their heads a little bit. We’ll see when it gets later in camp.”
