ATHENS — It was early, but Georgia’s offense already was feeling some pressure. Florida had flown down the field on its opening possession for a seven-play touchdown drive, and the Bulldogs needed to answer.
Facing second-and-7 at the Florida 40, quarterback Carson Beck ran a play he’d called dozens of times for All-American tight end Brock Bowers – a play-action fade to the short side of the field. Only this time, his target was Oscar Delp.
Delp easily defeated the man coverage and was wide open on Georgia’s sideline. By his own admission, Beck’s pass was terrible, high and outside.
No problem. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound just reached out with his right and hauled the errant pass into his body. A good ball likely would’ve resulted in a touchdown. As it was, Delp fell to the ground for an 18-yard gain and another Georgia first down.
The Bulldogs would have to settle for a field goal on that possession, but notice was served. Bowers might not be playing, but Delp′s pretty good, too.
Talking about the one-handed grab after Georgia’s practice Tuesday night, Delp just shrugged.
“I mean, we practice it in warm-ups before every game,” said Delp, meaning one-handed grabs. “It just kind of happened. I wasn’t even thinking about it. I just stuck my arm up, and it kind of happened. I wouldn’t call it routine, but I think it’s a play I could definitely make again.”
As it turned out, Georgia didn’t go back to Delp for a long time. He wasn’t targeted again until midway through the fourth quarter, and Delp caught that one, too. This one was over the middle went for a 13-yard gain in the middle of 10-play touchdown drive that made the score 43-13.
It was everything that happened in between those two catches that pleased Georgia’s coaches most. Of the 63 snaps the Bulldogs’ first-team offense played against Florida, Delp was on the field for 48 of them. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded third among Georgia’s offensive players, behind only Beck and flanker Ladd McConkey.
To this, Georgia coach Kirby Smart shrugged.
“Yeah, I didn’t see any difference,” he said of Delp. “I mean, y’all find that hard to believe, but he played when Brock was here; he plays when Brock’s not. He took a load of reps before Brock was injured; he takes a load of reps with Brock injured. He fights his tail off every day at practice, works hard. If anything, he’s just gotten more opportunities, and he’s made the most of them.”
Truthfully, pass-catching and route-running is the least of Delp’s concerns. He flourished as a wide receiver at West Forsyth High School well before he started being evaluated as college prospect at tight end. He was expected to be standout receiving threat when he signed with the Bulldogs as the nation’s No. 1 tight end in 2022.
It’s all the other things that come with playing the position at Georgia that Delp needed to master. Blocking is chief among those.
“Definitely in the run game,” Delp said of the area in which he’s made the most improvement. “It’s night and day from when I came here that January until now. Coach (Todd) Hartley’s done so well emphasizing the little things like footwork, taking the right steps, hand placement and everything. I’m learning how to use my body in the run game and that’s definitely the biggest place I’ve grown.”
Bowers, meanwhile, has been there every step of the way. Though he’s likely sidelined at least another month following Oct. 16 TightRope surgery, Bowers traveled with the Bulldogs to Jacksonville and acted as a coach on the sideline. Hartley is in the coaches’ box for Georgia’s games.
Every time the offense would come off the field, Bowers would huddle with position-mates Delp, Lawson Luckie and Pearce Spurlin and go over what he had just seen and what they should expect next. Other than not being on the field with them, it’s like Bowers never left.
“He’s been at every meeting; he’s with us every time we’re watching film; he’s the same Brock he’s been when he’s healthy,” Delp said. “I’m excited to have him there always with us and talking with us. He’s always going to be an extra brain over there. He’s just so smart with the game of football and everything, just what he sees. He’s a great teammate, so it’s been great having him with us still.”
To say that the Bulldogs don’t miss Bowers would be untrue. But the offense scoring 43 points and gaining nearly 500 yards again (486) surely had to be a confidence-builder for everybody involved heading into Saturday’s game against 12th-ranked Missouri.
Not necessarily Delp, though.
“I’ve always been confident in myself,” said Delp, who enters the game with 15 receptions for 191 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s really making other people comfortable, you know, seeing another face in there doing something that hasn’t really been seen because we’ve had Brock in there all the time. But I’ve always believed in myself and been confident, and I think my teammates do as well. They’ve let me know that.”
Others are learning that as well.
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