Kirby Smart‘s Bulldogs are packing a new bark this season, but the question is: will they impact the league, or will it just be all bark? They will now be banking on the footed feet of Oscar Delp, a junior, to fill out the mighty shoes that Brock Bowers left behind in his wake.

To emphasize the importance Bowers held during his time with the Bulldogs, here’s a look at some of his accolades. In 2023, he became the first-ever back-to-back winner of the John Mackey Award for the nation’s top TE. He recorded over 56 catches for 714 yards and six receiving touchdowns during the 10 games he played and started in. Now, the responsibility of Bowers’ mantle befalls the shoulders of Delp, who seems prepared to stand up to the challenge and lead Smart to a championship game, which has been out of their grasp quite a few times.

Oscar Delp is ready to be the next Brock Bowers for Georgia

Jordan D. Hill, a beat writer for “Dawgs 247,” released a few quotes from the new starting TE for Georgia, Oscar Delp, and what he had to say about his own abilities. Bowers was selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and now, he plays under Jim Harbaugh for the LA Chargers as the Bulldogs rearrange the pieces to fill out his void.

Oscar Delp emphasized the competition that he’s set to face this season and how the only way to overpower bigger-sized opponents is through “technique and angles.” Next, he spoke highly of his teammate, Ben Yurosek, and said, “He’s a big dude. You can tell he’s played a lot of football. He’s learning the offense just like everyone else, and he’s done a good job of that. “ Kirby Smart’s team looks to be putting fresher boots on the ground as they hope for a better record than last year when they lost out to their bitter rivals, Alabama, and bid farewell to their dreams of a natty. That said, let’s look at what Kirby Smart had to say about the new and improved TE locker room of the Bulldogs and how it will pan out in the 2024 season.

Kirby Smart has faith in all of his next-gen tight ends

Brock Bowers’ exit took off a sizeable chunk of the Bulldogs’ competitive edge when he left for the NFL, but that’s not all that Kirby Smart lost after the 2023 season. Pierce Spurlin, another TE for Georgia, was forced to medically retire from football due to a heart condition. As such, Smart brought in new vital additions like Ben Yurosek and is now going to play Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie more in the crucial positions and seems pretty confident in his choices.

Smart spoke highly about Lawson’s capabilities and how he’s been having a “good spring” till now, and Oscar has displayed immense signs of raw “toughness.” The HC added, “We got to bring the two young kids along really fast Jaden Reddell has been dealing a little bit of a hamstring, so we’re trying to get him back out there the best he can. But 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 that they can grow.” Thus, Smart is improving the squad in the best way possible, seeing how much of the star power is absent from the team. However, this year, the Bulldogs may need a fresh mindset to showcase their stronger side.