TAMPA, Fla. — Most kids see less of their parents when they go to college.
For Georgia center Drew Bobo, it’s been the opposite.
“I tell people these past four or five years, I’ve seen my dad more than I’ve seen him the rest of my whole life,” Bobo said at SEC media days on Tuesday. “So it’s been cool to have the same off time, getting to go play golf together, getting to go on vacations together. It’s just been really cool to do that.”
Bobo is the son of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who returned to Georgia ahead of the 2022 season as an analyst. He’s been the team’s offensive coordinator since the 2023 season, much to the chagin of a vocal minority of the Georgia fan base
Drew Bobo’s entire college career has been in Athens. In his teenage years, his dad coached at Colorado State, South Carolina and Auburn. Those stops came after serving as offensive coordinator at Georgia from 2007 through 2014.
In an age where players can transfer after every season, Bobo has become a rock for the Georgia program, emerging as its best offensive lineman. He’s now a key leader, as evidenced by his selection as one of the player representatives for the Bulldogs at this year’s SEC media days.
“He embodies what our team is,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Bobo. “This is a returning captain, which is rare on our team. This is one of the toughest kids on the team that played a series with a Lisfranc in his foot. This is a guy that pushes everybody to be better. And there’s no greater position of importance on your team, maybe outside of quarterback, than the guy that’s snapping it to him. And we learned that last year in what we do.”
When Bobo is on the field, he’s one of the best offensive linemen in the league. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors last season.
But Georgia had a much better understanding of how important Bobo is to the team when he suffered a season-ending foot injury against Georgia Tech.
While Zachariah Branch was scoring the game’s only touchdown in a 16-9 win, Bobo had his foot stepped on. He knew he was in pain and had the injury checked out by trainers, but he felt he could still play.
He went back in for another series before further realizing just how serious his injury was.
Bobo broke the fourth metatarsal in his left foot, which required Lisfranc surgery. The injury ended Bobo’s season and kept him out all of spring practice.
Georgia wants to be careful with Bobo as he returns to the field, but there’s optimism he’ll be ready to go when the Bulldogs open the season against Tennessee State on Sept. 5.
“The biggest news is Drew looks great,” Smart said. “He’s taking reps. We’ll probably load-manage him some and not overdo him.”
Bobo has spoken often with Tate Ratledge, who underwent the same surgery when he was in college. Ratledge, a fixture around the Georgia football facility this offseason, went on to become a second-round pick for the Detroit Lions in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ratledge and Bobo are good friends, in addition to being former teammates.
When Ratledge missed the majority of the 2021 season, Georgia was still able to win the national championship. The loss of Bobo was far greater, with Smart still noting the impact his absence had in Georgia’s 39-34 loss to Ole Miss.
Bobo’s backup, Malachi Toliver, largely played well in Bobo’s absence. But Tolliver did have a critical mistake on fourth down when he snapped the ball to Gunner Stockton before he was ready for it. Georgia failed to pick up the fourth down and Ole Miss needed just 23 yards to score a touchdown that put Ole Miss up 34-24.
“Obviously, I was a little upset about it, but I still had confidence in what our offensive line would do,” Bobo said. “It was a little bit of mixed feelings, but I was confident that they would do great. But just really going back to being upset that I couldn’t play.”
Stockton knows having Bobo around makes life easier for the Georgia quarterback. That Bobo doubles as one of Stockton’s best friends only makes their bond stronger.
“We all know that he’s a great player,” Stockton said. “He’s a valuable player. I think everybody can see that. And definitely, he gets everybody right on the line. Just the fire and passion that he has for the university is awesome.
The Georgia offensive line is expected to be a strength this season. Bobo may well be the biggest reason why that is the case, which speaks to how well he played last season.
Bobo wasn’t originally going to play for his father’s alma mater, as Bobo was committed to Auburn for most of the 2022 recruiting cycle. But when Auburn fired Mike Bobo following the 2021 season, Drew ended up following his father to college.
He’s been able to navigate the tricky dynamic that comes with being the son of a coach. If anything, being able to lean on his father, a former Georgia quarterback, has only helped his football development.
The 2026 season will be Drew Bobo’s last at Georgia, as he’ll exhaust his eligibility following this season. He’s already graduated from the school, and he was a member of the 2022 national championship team.
He’s hoping to finish this season like his first. Only this time as one of the engines of the team, rather than the son of an offensive coach.
“He embodies our culture,” Smart said. “He doesn’t care who gets the credit. He’s selfless. He’s not looking for — those two kids, he and Raylen [Wilson], they’re born and bred, die Georgia Bulldogs, and they love the place.”
