Georgia star tight end Brock Bowers sustained a sprained left ankle during the second quarter of the top-ranked Bulldogs’ 37-20 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said afterward that X-rays on Bowers’ ankle were negative and he is scheduled for an MRI exam on Sunday.
Bowers was injured on a designed run after his leg was twisted awkwardly on a tackle by Vanderbilt safety Savion Riley midway through the quarter. He limped off the field and into the medical tent.
Smart spoke briefly to Bowers following the injury.
“It’s an ankle sprain, but we don’t know how severe,” Smart said in his postgame press conference. “We X-rayed it; the X-rays were negative. It looks like it’s a lower (ankle sprain) … and until we get an MRI, we won’t know.”
The Mackey Award winner as the nation’s top tight end last season, Bowers had four catches for 22 yards and two rushes for 11 yards prior to leaving the game. He leads Georgia with 41 catches, 567 yards and four touchdown catches.
Bowers moved into fifth place in school history with 2,391 career receiving yards and sixth with 160 receptions.
Smart said it’s hard to avoid the type of injury Bowers sustained on Saturday.
“We worry about our players all the time,” Smart said. “It’s not a lot you can do; it’s the game of football, right? They’re going to play tackle, you’re going to be injured, you’re going to have bumps and bruises. We’re not going to overreact to it. We’re thinking about Brock, but we’re going to be fine.”
Smart said right tackle Xavier Truss (ankle) will also undergo an MRI.
Running back Kendall Milton (knee) also exited. He had 53 yards on five carries.
–Field Level Media
