Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This entry chronicles the big decision made today by All-American TE Oscar Delp of West Forsyth High School in Metro Atlanta.
CUMMING, Ga. -- Oscar Delp shared a big decision with the world today. He made #delpisadawg a reality.
The announcement reveal ceremony that took place at the West Forsyth High School cafeteria was filled with a partisan crowd, including one lady in a red T-shirt that even sported that hashtag.
That was the long-awaited decision the All-American TE announced in front of friends, family and the West Forsyth High School community.
We are sure at this very moment his future UGA teammate De’Nylon Morrissette is jumping up into the air.
He’s jumping into every DM and text message thread applicable to celebrating this choice and sharing a big “I told you so” with the world. Morrisette had made the recruitment of Delp a personal priority for the Bulldogs.
He wasn’t the only one.
“It really just came down to where I am going to get developed the most and have the best opportunity to make a name for myself and really kind of get the ball,” Delp said.
Why did the All-American TE decide to make #DelpisaDawg trend today?
That “get the ball” stuff was made clear. Over and over.
Delp said it goes back to the Vanderbilt game. It turns out that the contest did more than provide a canvas for 62 uncontested points against the Commodores.
Delp saw Brock Bowers go off. And off.
“I think it was that game against Vanderbilt when Brock Bowers got a handoff and scored a receiving touchdown,” Delp said. “In the games before that, he got the ball numerous times. That was kind of really it for me. I saw how they were using him and what they have always told me they wanted to do with me in the future. They always told me what they were going to do and what they were going to do with him.”
“But I was kind of waiting to see it and then I finally saw it. It was just a good feeling.”
The Bowers parallel there is valid. That’s why that specific part of his remarkable all-around storyline with Delp flows first.
“I think Bowers and I play really similarly,” Delp said. “I think I am one of those tight ends that can go vertical in the passing game and really run crisp routes and be one of those extra receivers. A glorified wide receiver. I can also put my hand down and I know they are going to develop me into a better blocker and a better route runner.”
“I really think that is going to make me a complete tight end.”
He is up to 227 pounds. Delp said he clocked at a high 4.5 seconds in the 40 over the summer. That was a laser time.
“I think I’m going to bring a very versatile player that can really get open and a faster tight end,” Delp said. “I think I’m one of the more athletic players in the country. I think I will have a chance to get right in the weight room and hopefully make an impact right away, get the ball in my hands and make some plays.”
The ideal weight for Delp at Georgia will be in the 240-pound range. That’s what he has been told by the UGA staff.
#DelpisaDawg: The pertinent stuff that folks now need to know
He’s rated as the nation’s No. 3 TE for this cycle on the 247Sports Composite ratings. That slots him in as the nation’s No. 97 overall recruit.
It is believed that he is the highest-rated (per the composite rating) high school prospect in Forsyth County history.
Delp can early enroll at UGA. We’re pretty sure this makes All-American QB commit Gunner Stockton happy today, too. It means that Stockton is now 1-for-2 this week in his hoped-for roommate options at UGA.
Stockton has also been recruiting Delp for some time.
With this decision, he becomes the 18th member of the 2022 recruiting class at UGA. He’s the first and only tight end.
Delp was the only tight end that Georgia assistant coach Todd Hartley recruited for this class. This can be seen as a program win here, too.
“Georgia has a developed offensive line, a developed defense and every week in practice I am going to be getting reps against the best players in the country,” Delp said. “I really think it is going to make me a better player in the long run.”
The Bulldogs didn’t need a tight end per see. Look at Darnell Washington. Look at Bowers.
But the Bulldogs just could not pass on a talent like Delp. The former lacrosse player never got the big-time offers in that sport. He really just exploded on the scene as a national recruit in September of 2020.
The pandemic slowed down the offers that would have arrived about six months earlier. He would’ve gotten them in a typical spring practice evaluation calendar in May of 2020.
Michigan was his first offer. They were actually the first coaching staff to notice him, too. South Carolina finished a strong second here. That recruiting effort was stout enough to give Delp some moments of pause regarding this eventual decision.
The Bowers connection hits on several levels, including the ability to line up alongside him.
“I love what they are doing with Bowers so far and how they are going to use us together in the future is really going to be a cool thing,” Oscar Delp said.
The decision also moves Georgia past Texas into third overall for the 2022 cycle with the 18 commitments in the class. Georgia and its 18 commitments now only trail Alabama (16 commits) and Penn State (26 commits) in the race for the nation’s top class.
He’s the ninth commit for the offensive side of the ball in this class. Delp also becomes the 11th in-state homegrown Bulldog commit for this class. We must also chalk up his former West Forsyth teammate and current UGA freshman OL Dylan Fairchild as a major influencer on his decision.
Fairchild, more than anything, got him in a virtual headlock and told him to slow down with his process. He made it key to him that the visits were vital in his selection process.
“Dylan Fairchild is the reason,” Delp said. “He told me he was going to go to Auburn. He was 100 percent locked into Auburn. He took a visit to Georgia and that changed everything. He said ‘Do not waste your visits’ and ‘Do not forget about the importance of that stuff and that’s where you find where you want to be’ and I think after that Georgia kind of sat with me the most.”
Delp had 43 catches for 730 yards as a junior. He averaged 17.1 yards per on those plays. That’s a gaudy number for a high school tight end. That’s gaudy for an All-American receiver.
He scored nine times in nine games. He’s already tallied up 31 catches for 503 yards and and three touchdowns this fall.
Oscar Delp: The good stuff you get used to reading on DawgNation
To this point, you’ve been reading what should come across as a textbook story on a big-time All-American recruit committing to UGA.
Is the main storyline here the rich get richer? Is this the Bulldogs adding another elite recruit to their powerhouse team?
Hardly. This is a story that will also give a lot of praise to assistant coach Todd Hartley as a master recruiter.
Yet even more so than that, it is a story about perseverance.
Delp is a top 100 overall recruit now, but he’s come a long way in a short amount of time. He looks back on a sophomore season where he played almost 90 percent of his snaps at cornerback and safety.
He is thankful that second-year head coach Dave Svehla and his coaching staff saw fit to use him at tight end last season.
There were times in his life where he was hoping for just one scholarship offer. Not the chance to choose from the likes of Alabama, Clemson and Georgia, among others.
He did something about it, though.
“The one thing I will always remember are those days when you are just reaching out to random coaches on Twitter,” he said. “It didn’t really matter what school. I had a thing I would just copy-and-paste and just send off. I sent out hundreds of text messages every week before they all finally started catching on.”
“The one thing I’d have to say to upcoming recruits is don’t wait for people to come after you. You have to go after them first. Don’t make your coaches do it for you. Your coaches are obviously going to help but it is all going to fall on you. You’ve got to start your recruitment on your own. It doesn’t matter who or which school. That first offer you get is that first offer.”
There will be plenty more to come on DawgNation in the next 18 hours about Delp and this recruiting story, including just what a job Hartley did here for Georgia.
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- Ladd McConkey: Where would he be now if not for that very late UGA offer?
- Adam Anderson: He’s bigger, older and wiser, but he still plays for his Angel
- Georgia QB commit Gunner Stockton smashes a state record held by Deshaun Watson
- 5-star do-it-all defender Shemar Stewart recaps another “great” trip to UGA
- Luther Burden III: A 5-star’s burden that goes beyond choosing to commit to Georgia or Mizzou
- Mykell Williams: What the 5-star DL thought on his front-row VIP treatment at UGA
- Big Bear Alexander: Why the 5-star DT “couldn’t have been more fired up” to be in Athens
- Nation’s No. 1 overall prospect Travis Hunter is a surprise visitor at Arkansas
- Cooper Manning weighs in on Georgia’s recruitment of his 5-star son Arch Manning
- Elite 2023 cornerback prospect Kayin Lee has made his college decision
- Christen Miller: Georgia has really moved the needle of late with the All-American DT
- Luther Burden: The nation’s No. 2 WR on two upcoming visits and a rescheduled commitment day
- WATCH: Top 100 OT prospect Johnathan “Bo” Hughley breaks down why he committed to UGA
- 5-star DT prospect Big Bear Alexander moves from Texas to play his senior season at IMG Academy
- 5-star junior cornerback AJ Harris has a final 7 with a commitment date in mind
