Last week, UGASports looked at the 2023 season in terms on how Georgia ran the ball. This time we look at receiving. Georgia had some pretty big moments, with some stats that the Bulldogs have rarely ever seen.
Despite playing just ten games, Brock Bowers led the Dawgs with 56 receptions. The 56 receptions were tied for the ninth most in one season by any Bulldog. He tied A.J. Green's mark from 2008 and Bowers' own total from his freshman season of 2021. Bowers' sophomore total of 63 receptions is the second most. Bowers' teammate Dominic Lovett was second in receptions this past season with 54. Bowers and Lovett became just the third set of Bulldog teammates to each have at least 50 receptions in one season (Mohamed Massaquoi and Green in 2008, and Bowers and Ladd McConkey also did it in 2022).
As you can see, the eight players with 20 or more receptions this season was the most in the Smart era. Here is a breakdown on all eight of those players as to when they caught those passes in 2023.
The fourth-quarter numbers above are a lot smaller since Georgia passed the ball a lot less late in the game. As a team, the Bulldogs had just 51 receptions in the game's final quarter compared to 90, 96, and 91 in the first three.
As a whole, the wide receiver group got the ball a lot more this past season compared to the two previous seasons for the Bulldogs. Here is a look at the last three seasons in terms of the major stat categories in which position group caught the ball for the Dawgs (Dillon Bell's season with 29 receptions for 355 receptions and two touchdowns were all counted in the wide receiver group).
Bowers had another outstanding season in 2023. He became the first tight end to win the Mackey Award twice (started in 2000). He also became just the third Bulldog to be named All-American in three seasons (Herschel Walker and David Pollack). Statistically, he is also the third Georgia player to have three seasons with at least 50 receptions (Terrence Edwards and A.J. Green).
UGASports has been the No. 1 source in keeping track on Bowers' career stats and where they stand in the Georgia record book (dating back to the 2022 season). Here is how the great tight end finished his career.
Bowers also had ten games in his career with 100 or more yards receiving, including three contests in 2023. The ten are technically tied for the most all-time at Georgia with Fred Gibson and Terrence Edwards. However, Gibson had an additional one in a bowl game prior to the 2002 season, so the NCAA doesn't officially count it.
Don't forget Ladd McConkey, who also had a stellar career for the Dawgs. He finished his career with 119 receptions for 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns on the receiving end. The 14 touchdown receptions are the 13th highest total in Georgia history while his yard total ranks him 17th. He is also among the leaders in game totals this season by Bulldog players during the 2023 season.
