Though Georgia fans were left holding their breaths for a second, Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens will both officially be back in Athens next season. Bowens announced he would be returning on his social media yesterday and Frazier did the same, posting a video featuring rapper Kodak Black forcefully declaring he wasn’t going anywhere.
The announcements came following speculation that Frazier could enter the Transfer Portal once Bulldogs insider Rusty Mansell reported Saturday night that he had not reached an agreement to return to the team. But it appears all the contract negotiations are settled and all sides are ready to move forward as they prepare for the 2026 season.
Georgia can finally breathe a little easier
It’s a real sigh of relief for the Bulldogs, who are dealing with heavy roster turnover on the offensive side of the ball. Georgia is losing six of its top seven pass catchers from 2025, as well as two starting offensive linemen in Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris, and could be losing a third depending on Earnest Greene's looming NFL Draft decision.
That makes it all the more important that the Bulldogs hold on to every last bit of offensive continuity that they can. It’ll be tough enough replacing Zachariah Branch and everything he brought to the offense, and needed to replace Frazier and/or Bowens would have been a major setback.
Though Georgia is losing the lion’s share of its passing game production, with Frazier and Bowens’ return they’ve secured the return of their top three rushers, with the third being quarterback Gunner Stockton.
Frazier rushed for 947 yards and six touchdowns on 173 carries while Bowens finished with 526 yards and six scores on 103 carries. Both had games of over 100 rushing yards, though Bowens’ production tapered off a bit after Georgia’s early-November win against Florida due to lingering calf and back injuries.
Since Georgia has so much passing production to replace, Frazier and Bowens will be more important to the team in 2026 than ever. And they were already featured quite a bit in 2026.
The Bulldogs put a renewed focus on the running game this past offseason after disappointing returns on the ground in 2024. It largely paid off, with Georgia ranking fourth in the SEC in rushing yards per game in 2025.
“A run game is not going to just help you offensively, it’s going to help your quarterback,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said via espn.com before the season. “It’s going to help your defense, it’s going to help all areas.”
Georgia still has a lot of work to do, but one less thing to worry about
Georgia has plenty to figure out offensively, but at least won’t have to iron out a new running back rotation in 2026. There will be some new blood in the room, however, with former Kentucky back Dante Dowdell announcing his decision to join the Bulldogs out of the Transfer Portal Monday.
Dowdell is a big back at 6-foot-2, 227 pounds and profiles similarly to Josh McCray, who joined the Bulldogs last year for his final season of eligibility and rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns on 53 carries as a short-yardage specialist.
Dowdell will likely be used a lot of the same way. He rushed for 560 yards and three touchdowns for Kentucky last season.
The new era of college football means almost any player is liable to jump ship at any given moment if a sweeter NIL offer arises elsewhere. But Georgia looks to have avoided that fate with two of its best offensive players, and will be relying on Frazier and Bowens as centerpieces of the offense in 2026.