Georgia's Oscar Delp Knows What It Takes to Win
After deciding to return for a senior season at Georgia, Oscar Delp is wasting no time making sure he’s doing whatever it takes to finish off his career the right way.
“I came back for a reason. I want to have a great season, and in the summer, that’s what we do: we work out,” Delp said of his offseason mindset. “We work out a bunch, work out hard, as hard as I could, so it was simple.”
That mindset is one that has led to noticeable improvements in the weight room this offseason. The kind of improvement that earned the 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end praise from his head coach, Kirby Smart.
“He’s got one of our most improved boards in terms of work ethic in the weight room and the jumps he made,” Smart said. “He knows this is an important year for him.”
Even his teammates, like inside linebacker Raylen Wilson, have taken notice as well, though.
“I felt like I’d seen a lot of improvement in the weight room. Just going heavy weight,” Wilson said. “We’d be competing in the weight room. Seeing who can do the most weight and different stuff.”
On a roster that is made up of 54 percent first and second-year players, Delp is one of the few returning veterans. He is one of the few remaining players who were part of Georgia’s 2022 national championship team.
“Yeah, I mean, just, I know how it was when we won games, and when it was work, when we won national championships, I was here for that,” Delp said. “So I just kinda share with them the standard and what those older guys were holding me to when I was younger.”
While Delp will surely be looking to improve his numbers as a receiver, Georgia also needs him to excel as a blocker.
“But for him, for us, it’s like having a ‘Y’ that can physically hold up and block, which nobody likes to hear, but the NFL loves that,” Smart said of Delp’s role.
The onus to make plays as a receiver and contribute to the run game will not solely lie on Delp’s shoulders. He returns alongside junior Lawson Luckie, who made for two of the Bulldogs’ three major contributors at the position last season.
The only loss is the former Stanford transfer, Ben Yurosek. In his lone season as a Bulldog, Yurosek finished with 185 yards on 15 receptions while playing in all 14 games.
“I think we have the best tight end room in the country. I think we have a lot of guys that make a lot of plays, and I think we’re gonna make a lot of plays this year,” Delp said. “We just need to just worry about what’s called and not worry about things we can’t control.”