University of Georgia Athletics
Bowens 'Trying To Take It To A Different Level Now’
April 09, 2026 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Chauncey Bowens doesn't really feel like an experienced veteran yet. But as he goes through his third spring practice as a Georgia Bulldog, he's happy to be one of the leaders among the running backs, if that's what's needed.
"It's crazy because I'm 19, I'm young, but in this situation, no, you're not young. You've got to be a vet," said Bowens, who rushed for 526 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry as a redshirt freshman last season. "(Georgia head coach Kirby Smart) has said it before, 'Y'all have got to be veterans, y'all have got to be leaders. Leadership isn't fair, but you're in that position, and no one else has been here the same amount of time you've been, so you've got to just step up and be ready for it.'"
Being a leader is nothing new for Bowens, like any Georgia player, because he was a star in high school. In his case, at the Benjamin School in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he ran for 3,062 yards and 33 touchdowns in his prep career. Being a leader at a place like Georgia is different from leading in high school, he said.
"It's something that I've had to learn here, and it's not anything that I've done since high school," he said. "It's like, OK, you're an underclassman in college and you have older guys in the room that have been in tough environments and played in tough games, and that know what it is to be tested with fire and be baptized by fire.
"Those guys led, and now for me to be in there (leading), it's an honor, for sure."
The Bulldogs' top two rushers last season were Nate Frazier and Bowens, who are both back for 2026. As a sophomore in 2025, Frazier ran for a team-high 947 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt. Frazier, who played in all 14 games, had 173 carries, while Bowens, who played in 12, had 103. Both backs had six rushing touchdowns.
As a true freshman in 2024, Bowens played in four games, rushing 16 times for 58 yards. In a much bigger role last season, he was Georgia's leading rusher in three of the first eight games. He scored the first two touchdowns of his career against Austin Peay in the second game of the season, had 12 carries for a career-high 119 yards and a touchdown against Alabama, and ran the ball nine times for 70 yards and a score against Florida.
"I feel like I was kind of just getting my feet wet, just kind of getting used to the speed of the game and being out there," he said of his play last season. "It was cool, but I'm trying to take it to a different level now."
For the past couple of seasons, former walk-on Cash Jones was the primary third-down back. The coaches trusted him to pick up blitzes and make plays as a receiver. Last fall, in his final season, Jones had 13 carries for 33 yards and 20 receptions for 195, including a touchdown. When discussing Bowens and Frazier during a news conference last week, Smart said he's looking for more out of the running backs this spring and going into next season.
"They don't have a lot of experience, so catching the ball out of the backfield, being better receivers, blitz pickup schemes, yards after contact, and breaking tackles — that's essentially what a back's measured by. What do you get that the offensive line doesn't get for you? That's how you become elite," Smart said.
One key addition to Georgia's staff this offseason is one of the Bulldogs' all-time great running backs, Robert Edwards, who is an assistant running backs coach. Edwards, who started out as a cornerback, ran for 2,334 yards and 27 touchdowns in his career (1993-97), and later ran for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns as an NFL rookie with the New England Patriots. His career was sidetracked by a major knee injury after his rookie season, and he later played in the Canadian Football League before retiring.
Bowens said Edwards, whose younger brother Terrance still holds Georgia's record for career receiving yards (3,093) and career receptions (205, has a lot he can pass along to all of the running backs and the rest of the team.
"It's awesome for Coach Edwards to be here. A lot of people, they know the legend he was when he was here, and obviously his brother, too. So, for him to be here, it's definitely invaluable," Bowens said. "He's a guy that played and has been through what we're trying to do. It's awesome for him to be here and give us experience."
Bowens will have a different look at G-Day on April 18 and next season, making the switch from No. 33 to No. 5, the jersey number of another former legendary Georgia running back, Garrison Hearst, who entered the College Football Hall of Fame this year.
Frazier and Bowens have been close since they first signed with the Bulldogs in the same class. While Bowens enrolled early, he was in regular contact with Frazier, who joined the team the summer before his freshman year, throughout his first spring practice.
"Nate's my guy," Bowens said. "I still remember, when I enrolled early and he didn't, we'd FaceTime almost every week, and I'd be telling him how it is here and how hard the practices are. When he came up to visit, he'd stay with me, so we've always had a close relationship."
Bowens is listed at 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, while Frazier is 5-10 and 205. They're different backs with different strengths, but both have proven that they can get the job done for the Bulldogs. Bowens said they work together well and like sharing the load.
"I think he's extremely explosive, real twitchy, and he can definitely hurt you in a bunch of different ways and get outside of you. And once he does that, I mean, he's gone. You're not catching him," Bowens said. "I feel like I'm similar in a lot of ways, but, obviously, I weigh a little bit more. I'm just bringing a different aspect and bringing physicality, as well. It's just like a thunder and lightning type of tandem."
Georgia has long had stellar running backs, and often had multiple at the same time, perhaps most famously Nick Chubb and Sony Michel from 2014-17, when Chubb ran for 4,769 yards in his career and Michel ran for 3,638. Bowens and Frazier seem on their way to becoming the next great duo, to the delight of Bulldog fans and the frustration of opposing defenses.
Staff Writer
Chauncey Bowens doesn't really feel like an experienced veteran yet. But as he goes through his third spring practice as a Georgia Bulldog, he's happy to be one of the leaders among the running backs, if that's what's needed.
"It's crazy because I'm 19, I'm young, but in this situation, no, you're not young. You've got to be a vet," said Bowens, who rushed for 526 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry as a redshirt freshman last season. "(Georgia head coach Kirby Smart) has said it before, 'Y'all have got to be veterans, y'all have got to be leaders. Leadership isn't fair, but you're in that position, and no one else has been here the same amount of time you've been, so you've got to just step up and be ready for it.'"
Being a leader is nothing new for Bowens, like any Georgia player, because he was a star in high school. In his case, at the Benjamin School in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he ran for 3,062 yards and 33 touchdowns in his prep career. Being a leader at a place like Georgia is different from leading in high school, he said.
"It's something that I've had to learn here, and it's not anything that I've done since high school," he said. "It's like, OK, you're an underclassman in college and you have older guys in the room that have been in tough environments and played in tough games, and that know what it is to be tested with fire and be baptized by fire.
"Those guys led, and now for me to be in there (leading), it's an honor, for sure."
The Bulldogs' top two rushers last season were Nate Frazier and Bowens, who are both back for 2026. As a sophomore in 2025, Frazier ran for a team-high 947 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt. Frazier, who played in all 14 games, had 173 carries, while Bowens, who played in 12, had 103. Both backs had six rushing touchdowns.
As a true freshman in 2024, Bowens played in four games, rushing 16 times for 58 yards. In a much bigger role last season, he was Georgia's leading rusher in three of the first eight games. He scored the first two touchdowns of his career against Austin Peay in the second game of the season, had 12 carries for a career-high 119 yards and a touchdown against Alabama, and ran the ball nine times for 70 yards and a score against Florida.
"I feel like I was kind of just getting my feet wet, just kind of getting used to the speed of the game and being out there," he said of his play last season. "It was cool, but I'm trying to take it to a different level now."
For the past couple of seasons, former walk-on Cash Jones was the primary third-down back. The coaches trusted him to pick up blitzes and make plays as a receiver. Last fall, in his final season, Jones had 13 carries for 33 yards and 20 receptions for 195, including a touchdown. When discussing Bowens and Frazier during a news conference last week, Smart said he's looking for more out of the running backs this spring and going into next season.
"They don't have a lot of experience, so catching the ball out of the backfield, being better receivers, blitz pickup schemes, yards after contact, and breaking tackles — that's essentially what a back's measured by. What do you get that the offensive line doesn't get for you? That's how you become elite," Smart said.
One key addition to Georgia's staff this offseason is one of the Bulldogs' all-time great running backs, Robert Edwards, who is an assistant running backs coach. Edwards, who started out as a cornerback, ran for 2,334 yards and 27 touchdowns in his career (1993-97), and later ran for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns as an NFL rookie with the New England Patriots. His career was sidetracked by a major knee injury after his rookie season, and he later played in the Canadian Football League before retiring.
Bowens said Edwards, whose younger brother Terrance still holds Georgia's record for career receiving yards (3,093) and career receptions (205, has a lot he can pass along to all of the running backs and the rest of the team.
"It's awesome for Coach Edwards to be here. A lot of people, they know the legend he was when he was here, and obviously his brother, too. So, for him to be here, it's definitely invaluable," Bowens said. "He's a guy that played and has been through what we're trying to do. It's awesome for him to be here and give us experience."
Bowens will have a different look at G-Day on April 18 and next season, making the switch from No. 33 to No. 5, the jersey number of another former legendary Georgia running back, Garrison Hearst, who entered the College Football Hall of Fame this year.
Frazier and Bowens have been close since they first signed with the Bulldogs in the same class. While Bowens enrolled early, he was in regular contact with Frazier, who joined the team the summer before his freshman year, throughout his first spring practice.
"Nate's my guy," Bowens said. "I still remember, when I enrolled early and he didn't, we'd FaceTime almost every week, and I'd be telling him how it is here and how hard the practices are. When he came up to visit, he'd stay with me, so we've always had a close relationship."
Bowens is listed at 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, while Frazier is 5-10 and 205. They're different backs with different strengths, but both have proven that they can get the job done for the Bulldogs. Bowens said they work together well and like sharing the load.
"I think he's extremely explosive, real twitchy, and he can definitely hurt you in a bunch of different ways and get outside of you. And once he does that, I mean, he's gone. You're not catching him," Bowens said. "I feel like I'm similar in a lot of ways, but, obviously, I weigh a little bit more. I'm just bringing a different aspect and bringing physicality, as well. It's just like a thunder and lightning type of tandem."
Georgia has long had stellar running backs, and often had multiple at the same time, perhaps most famously Nick Chubb and Sony Michel from 2014-17, when Chubb ran for 4,769 yards in his career and Michel ran for 3,638. Bowens and Frazier seem on their way to becoming the next great duo, to the delight of Bulldog fans and the frustration of opposing defenses.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
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