No Bowers, no problem: Georgia TEs expecting standard to remain the same

ATHENS, Ga. — Among Georgia’s biggest storylines this spring is the challenge that will be replacing Brock Bowers. Potentially College Football’s best-ever tight end, filling his shoes may seem like more of a mountain than a mole hill. Luckily, the Bulldogs have a group of tight ends up for the task.

“It’s kind of been our new standard here in the tight end room,” Oscar Delp said about the success Georgia’s had with the tight end position as of late and the hop that it continues into 2024. “I think Brock helped set that, and I think we definitely have to uphold it.”

Delp, who will have the most experience at Georgia of any player in the room this fall, sees himself as a leader. He’s watched the likes of Bowers and Darnell Washington set an example during the two seasons he’s been in Athens and is looking to emulate that starting this spring.

“I think the biggest thing that I’ve taken away from him is I’ve never really seen the guy take off a play,” Delp said when asked about the lessons he learned from Bowers. “I think that’s the way you need to practice here and how to grow as a player. That’s why he did the things he did. He never wasted a player or wasted an opportunity and made the most of everything.”

Still, Delp isn’t Bowers, and the coaches aren’t asking him to be. In the time the star tight end missed last season, Delp stepped up and made an impact. It wasn’t Bowers-level, but few players at any position are capable of contributing that way. Instead, Kirby Smart and company want Delp to just be himself.

“Oscar’s really physical. He does things his way. He’s not Brock. He doesn’t try to be Brock,” Smart said. “… He knows the work ethic it requires. The guy’s taken a lot of reps since being here. He’s been durable. He’s doing a good job leading in that room.”

From things as simple as being at the front of the line for drills to larger ideas like giving his all on every rep and emptying the tank every day, Delp is doing all he can to be an example for the other tight ends in the room. That includes sophomore Lawson Luckie and the two freshmen: Jaden Reddell and Colton Heinrich.

The youngsters are learning. It’s the first spring for Reddell and Heinrich, just a matter of months into their collegiate careers. Meanwhile for Luckie, he had a strong set of spring practices last year before suffering an ankle sprain in fall camp that required surgery and set him back and made it harder to reach his full potential as a freshman in 2023.

“Lawson’s having a good spring so far. Oscar’s a proven player with toughness. We’ve got to bring the two young kids along really fast,” Smart said in his assessment of the tight ends. “Jaden Reddell’s been dealing with a little bit of a hamstring. We’re trying to get him back out there best he can. They need all the reps they can get. They just need to go out there and take a ton of reps and keep getting better so they can grow.”

“It’s a lot coming at you with our offense and everything. I remember when I went through that, how I felt and how it was,” Delp added about the freshmen. “They are doing really well. They’re coming in, watching film and learning. It’s not easy as a freshman but they’re going to be really good players.”

According to Delp, there hasn’t been much change in the approach of the tight ends this spring from the one they had last year, or any other year for that matter. With or without Bowers, tight ends coach Todd Hartley and the entire offensive staff is counting of the position to be one that produces in the Georgia system.

“The coaches aren’t treating us any differently. We’ve been doing the same things as the previous seasons and what they’ve been telling us since we got here. We’ve just got to keep making plays and doing things we know we’re capable of that all the coaches know we’re capable of also,” Delp said. “We’re a passing offense and they like the tight ends a lot. We’re going to hopefully go a lot of 12 personnel and continue that. I don’t see any change.” 

“It just comes down to the all the guys the coaches recruit to come play tight end here. We can all run and catch and we can all get down on the offensive line and block those big guys,” he added. “In my opinion, it starts with how physical we are and how well we block. We kind of earn all the catching an running routes, those are extra fruits of the labor. We got guys in that room that can do anything and the coaches know that. So they’re going to use us for everything.”

UGA will also add another tight end to the room before too long. The Bulldogs, who are four sessions down with 11 to go, will pick up transfer Ben Yurosek after his graduation from Stanford this spring. Over the past three seasons with the Cardinal, Yurosek totaled 1,342 receiving yards on 108 catches with five touchdowns in 35 games. He also added 114 yards on 14 carries on the ground.

Georgia wraps up spring practice on April 13th with the playing of the annual battle of Red and Black in the G-Day spring game at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff time is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.