ATHENS — Carson Beck has a chip on his shoulder this fall according to one of his favorite targets, Oscar Delp.

“He’s just hungry,” Delp said on Tuesday. “No one likes how we ended the season last year, and you can tell …. He’s got that chip on his shoulder.”

Beck, a projected No. 1 NFL draft pick and the nation’s leading returning passer, has perhaps more weight on his shoulders than any quarterback in recent UGA history.

“There’s not the depth around Carson at the skill positions that there’s been in the past, and, you know, puts more pressure on him,” Smart said. “Carson, he’s he’s got to get familiar with those other guys, and that’s the hardest part in the depth is we count on our quarterback to put us in the right play or make the right decision on so many plays.

“And Carson does a great job of that, and I think he’s had a very detailed, attentive camp.”

Indeed, Beck lost three-time All-American Brock Bowers to the most recent NFL draft along with veteran wideouts Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

Smart has indicated he likes the way returning receivers Dillon Bell, Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett have stepped up, but there’s a sense of urgency for Beck to get in sync with the incoming transfer targets and some of the younger receivers.

Smart challenged Beck in the spring and offseason to become more assertive, and he has seen necessary progress in at least one key phase of that element.

“Assertive is not something that he is; he’s just not naturally going to go out there and just be assertive vocally,” Smart said.

“He’s assertive in his checks. He’s assertive in his decision making. That’s certainly much more important than just what he says to the group.”

Perhaps, but one of Georgia’s team leaders and Beck’s closest friends has encouraged the UGA quarterback to speak up more around his teammates.

“I’ve had a few conversions with him, that when he speaks people, are gonna listen,” said Tate Ratledge, the anchor of what’s expected to be one of Georgia’s strongest offensive lines in recent memory.

“He’s our starting quarterback, and I think every team needs their starting quarterback to have some kind of voice. Him stepping up — and he has — it’s been big, and people listen when he talks.”

Delp has certainly taken note of Beck’s attitude shift and edgy approach, and that figures to grow even sharper as the Bulldogs’ season-opening game against Clemson on Aug. 31 approaches.