Brock Bowers was a luxury Georgia fans thought they’d never see again, but on Saturday tight end Jaden Reddell did his best impression of Bowers.
Bowers was at Georgia from 2021 through 2023, and in those three years he became one of the greatest tight end in college football history. Winning the John Mackey Award in back-to-back seasons, there was no receiving threat like him in all of college football.
Now that he is finding similar success in the NFL, fans have wondered who the next elite tight end will be. While Lawson Luckie and Elyiss Williams will also get plenty of playing time, Jaden Reddell looked like a clone on the football field during Georgia’s win over Tennessee State.
Jaden Reddell showed Bowers-like flashes in Week 1 win
You cannot overreact on a game that has a 47-point spread, but Reddell just looked different against Tennessee State. Reddell is a junior tight end who has waited his turn at Georgia. Coming into this year at 6'4", 240 pounds, he has an eerily similar stature as Bowers did while at Georgia. Bowers also carried the ball on end arounds in Athens, and we got to see Reddell do that on Saturday on a carry that went for 29 yards.
Reddell also had two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown on Saturday as well. What you may not have seen was a play that was eventually called back. Reddell had a catch that involved him breaking several tackles and going the distance before it was called back on a questionable facemask penalty.
Tackling UGA TE Jaden Reddell (6-4, 240) is like tackling a tree trunk pic.twitter.com/aycydkbrfS https://t.co/FDG3rROC22
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) September 5, 2026
If that play stood Reddell would’ve had over 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win. Diehard Georgia fans were not surprised at all by Reddell and his play today. Reddell is a former four-star recruit from the 2024 recruiting class and was expected by many to take the mantle of starting tight end one day.
With Georgia having so many talented tight ends, it is impossible to say in week one that he will be the "main guy" in this group. Especially given the fact that Luckie did not touch record one catch with Williams also having a great day with a touchdown of his own as well. However, it is hard not to get excited about what you see.
FCS school or not, that was a grown-man play. Georgia could realistically have three tight ends on the field at once this season, and every team could struggle to stop them. Not to mention Kaiden Prothro, a converted tight end to receiver who also caught a touchdown against Tennessee State.
The Bulldogs have a tight end room deeper than they have ever had, and it showed on Saturday. Given the Bulldogs' history at that position, that is a horrifying thought for anybody standing in Kirby Smart's way.
It will be interesting to see how they do against better competition, but so far they passed their one test against Tennessee State with flying colors.
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