In a way, Brock Bowers' touchdown had to happen.
The star Georgia tight end had been through a great deal to get to that point, returning from tightrope ankle surgery in record time to stand in the slot against Ole Miss. The play had been repped in practice countless times during Bowers' career, but had never been called in a game.
But on this night, the night of Bowers' miraculously fast return, the coverage broke in Georgia's favor. Bowers got his touchdown and a curtain call in his first game in a month and what could be his last game in Sanford Stadium.
"I wasn't totally sure at all. I guess in the whole week leading up to it, I was kind of unsure if they'd let me go or if they were going to kind of keep me out," Bowers said. "I mean, I wanted to play, obviously. I ended up feeling pretty good, and I was able to go, so I was happy about it."
The Ole Miss game marked exactly four weeks since Bowers went down with a left high ankle sprain against Vanderbilt. Two days after the injury, he underwent tightrope surgery to help stabilize the ankle and hasten his recovery.
The rehab process started right away. The Georgia medical staff has had plenty of experience with tightrope surgery of late, most recently with offensive tackle Amarius Mims. The Bulldogs immediately set out a plan to get Bowers healthy.
"It was never a rush," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "You don’t rush an injury back, especially not somebody like that. You have markers to hit. When you hit the markers, you go to the next marker. Once you hit the four markers, then it becomes are you capable of playing at a higher level enough to contribute to the team? It was never about a number of days. It was about the markers."
Some people told Bowers he shouldn't bother coming back to play. He had his future to think about, a future that likely involves hearing his name called in the first round of next year's NFL Draft.
But as Bowers said, that thought never crossed his mind.
"I just wanted to always come back for the team and all the guys in the locker room," Bowers said. "We all just care so much about each other. I just wanted to come back and try to help the team win.”
Bowers attacked his rehab the same way he's gone about his entire Georgia career. He worked harder than anyone else, trying to get back on the field as soon as he could.
Bowers referred to the rehab process as "fun" as he tried to hit his benchmarks. Every day he tried to go a little bit faster and do a little bit more than he did the day before. It didn't take long before his teammates took notice.
"Every time I saw him he was in there doing rehab, doing something to get better," offensive lineman Tate Ratledge said. "One day at practice, we’re doing a period, and you look back behind you and there’s Brock just sprinting across the field. You’re like, okay, he shouldn’t be doing that yet, but here he is."
Throughout the process, Bowers gained a new appreciation for the game.
"I guess just learning how to work through things, having a purpose to come back and wanting to come back," Bowers said. "It kind of made me appreciate the things I had before, because when you get in the grind, you don't really think about it. When it gets taken away from you that fast, you're like, 'Man, this sucks,' then you've got to get back into it. It kind of gives you a whole new perspective on it."
On Saturday night, Bowers emerged in full uniform and warmed up with his teammates. Even still, it remained to be seen how much he would play.
Bowers ended up playing 45 snaps, the most of any Georgia offensive player outside of quarterback Carson Beck. Four weeks after an injury that can take twice that long to recover from, Bowers looked like his old self
It all led to that touchdown reception, on a play that Bowers had never run in a game but did on a surgically repaired ankle. It's just one more comic book panel to add to Bowers' superhero-esque career as a Bulldog.
