At 13 overall in this year’s draft, the Raiders selected the consensus best player available in the draft, taking Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. The facts about Bowers that jumps off the page are his accolades.
For instance, Bowers has been a star since he set foot in Athens Georgia.
He was named a First Team All American at tight end as a freshman at Georgia. Ultimately he would join Herschel Walker and David Pollack as the only three-time first team All-Americans in Georgia Bulldog history. He was a Unanimous All American as a Junior. He also became the first two-time winner of the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end.
But aside from the on-field stuff that had him as such a highly touted prospect, there are some other interesting details about Bowers.
1. He comes from an extremely athletic family.
His parents met at Utah State where his father (Warren) was a two-time All-Conference center on the offensive line and his mother (DeAnna) was an All-American pitcher and first baseman on the softball team (1990-93). During her senior season, she won 26 games and posted a 0.82 ERA while striking out 130 batters. She was inducted into the Utah State Hall of Fame in 2016. Brock’s older sister (Brianna) played softball at Sacramento State (2019-21).
2. Raiders camped out in his backyard.
Bowers attended the Redwood Middle School in Napa which is where the Raiders held training camp every year until 2019. He once got Derek Carr’s autograph after a camp practice. Though he said he and his family were 49ers fans.
3. Mr Everything for his High School team.
He played quarterback in the triple option along with defensive end and linebacker as a freshman at Napa High. He joined the varsity team as a sophomore, playing wide receiver, tight end, running back, defensive end, linebacker and returning kicks and punts. Notre Dame tried to recruit him as a linebacker.
4. Strong Academics
His competitiveness extended past the playing first to the classroom. Bowers graduated high school with a 4.33 GPA. Math was his best subject, which makes sense because his mom is a math teacher.
5. Earned “Superman” nickname by college teammates
His teammates at Georgia called him “Superman” after he missed only two games following a tightrope ankle procedure which is normally a four-to-six-week injury. His head coach Kirby Smart said “Agents called him and told him to sit out the season after the injury. Those people will not be representing him, I promise you that, because all it did was piss him off.”