Historic College Football Program Surges in Battle With Georgia for Touted Playmaker

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Holcomb | Last updated May 25, 2025 5:40 PM ET

The Georgia Bulldogs remain the favorites to land the top tight end prospect in the 2026 recruiting class. But other programs have hardly given up on the idea of landing the top tight end.

Rivals' Adam Gorney reported on Wednesday the USC Trojans are pushing hard and surging for five-star tight end Mark Bowman.

"The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout tight end started his official visits at Ole Miss over the weekend and while the Rebels are definitely intriguing (and Bowman has a family connection to coach Lane Kiffin), Georgia is still setting the pace in his recruitment," wrote Gorney.

"USC has surged in Bowman’s recruitment with Texas and Oregon also very involved. But Bowman could be Brock Bowers-esque and the Dawgs are selling him on that hard."

As Gorney put it, Georgia has "set the pace" for Bowman throughout his recruitment process. The Bulldogs, though, also have a potentially complicated tight end situation for 2026 brewing.

On3's Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons each predicted on May 13 that Georgia would land Bowman and fellow five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro. While Bowman is the top tight end in the class, Prothro is ranked the No. 3 tight end.

NEWS: Five-Star TE Mark Bowman is down to 7 Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’4 228 TE from Huntington Beach, CA is ranked as the No. 1 TE in the ‘26 Class (per On3 Industry)

Where Should He Go?https://t.co/AMo8BpqnxE pic.twitter.com/bAS81dV6yK
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 15, 2025

Although USC is surging, Gorney's report didn't move the Bulldogs as the No. 1 potential landing spot for Bowman. Clearly, though, USC is Georgia's biggest competition.

There are also five other schools still involved in the No. 1 tight end's recruitment process. The Ole Miss Rebels and Texas Longhorns appear to be the next most-likely destinations for Bowman after Georgia and USC.

In addition to being the No. 1 tight end, Bowman is the No. 4 California recruit and No. 16 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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