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Georgia tight end Oscar Delp’s blocking a ‘pleasant surprise’ after Darnell Washington departure
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Georgia tight end Oscar Delp’s blocking a ‘pleasant surprise’ after Darnell Washington departure
ATHENS – Darnell Washington left a 6-foot-7, 260-pound hole in Georgia’s offense when the tight end declared for the NFL Draft in January.
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Delp may have excellent technique, know-how and willingness when it comes to blocking, but there is a limit to what can be accomplished with a 6'5" 225 lb frame against guys who are 240 lbs or bigger who have the same technique, know-how and willingness and can match Delp's athletic ability. I said that last year worked so great with both Bowers and Washington because A. they were the old Joe Gibbs (Hall of Fame Washington Redskins coach in the 1980s for you younger folks ... as well as folks of any age who only follow UGA football) H-back/traditional TE formation (Bowers the H-back, Washington the trad TE) and B. they were both first round pick talents.
Now I won't say that playing both Bowers and Delp - 2 guys with H-back builds and skills - won't work. Monken proved the last 2 years that this is the era of offensive innovation where getting the best players on the field and using them at what they do best works better than sticking with rigid philosophies (which Alabama last year and Clemson the last 2 years can be accused of). But for goodness sakes, PLEASE don't try to use Delp to be a line of scrimmage and in-line blocker like Washington last year. Where Washington could have put on a few pounds and been an All-Conference left tackle in the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12, Delp on the other hand is likely playing flanker receiver at a lot of schools.
"Nobody on UGA’s roster possesses the combination of size, speed and athleticism that Washington provided". Here's a news bulletin. NOBODY on any CFB roster possesses that combination. DWash wasn't called the unicorn for no reason.
DWash is gone, UGA has smaller, more athletic TE's now. The O will need to be adjusted accordingly. In running situations a reserve OL will line up at TE just like UGA used DL in goal line situations.
The O will be different. You don't have to score 40 ppg to win. You just have to score more than the opposition to win.
Delp will excell in his role for the team, whatever fits in his wheelhouse. Can he block safeties and linebackers in the run game. I think we all know the answer to that. Is he big enough to block DE's. I'm sure he could do an OK job, or as good as any TE not named Washington. But I don't see him being called upon to fill Washington's role on the line of srimmage. Probably be determined by the potential matchup across from him. Probably not a good matchup with the LSU's and BAMA's of the world but against lesseer schools, might not be a problem.
Everybody in George's office, except for the QB, is expected to be an excellent blocker. Delp will be no exception. At 6'5" and at least 240 by the time season starts, if he's able to hold his own against the best D in the country on a daily basss (practice), he'll be just fine against whoever he's expected to block on any team Georgia faces. Go Dawgs!
@UGADad20
Fascinating that the people who refer to Darnell Washington as a unicorn have forgotten about Leonard Pope, who led UGA in receiving on the 2005 SEC title team with DJ Shockley at QB. 6'8" and 260 lbs with a 4.62 40 (4.67 at the combine) and a 37 inch vertical. And as Richt and Bobo ran a pro style offense, Pope did plenty of blocking. Washington appears to have more raw explosive athleticism but Pope was certainly no slouch in that department either, again see clearly under 4.7 40 with basketball player caliber vertical. Pope was clearly a more polished player though, despite coming to UGA from tiny Americus.
What's fascinating is how you craft your responses in a misleading way in order to make a point that doesn't exist.
While Pope had a comparable UGA career (in 9 more games) to DWash, Pope didn't have to share TE targets with the John Mackey Award winning teammate.
Pope's NFL career was mostly forgettable. In 7 seasons (103 games) he averaged 15 receptions for 140 yds and 1.5 TD's. It is hard to imagine DWash not surpassing those numbers should he stay healthy.
"NOBODY on any CFB roster possesses that combination. " The point was there doesn't seem to be many(any?) CURRENTLY in CFB. Sorry if my inference to "current" threw you. It kind of goes w/o saying considering it took UGA 16 years to find another "unicorn" (CFB announcers words not mine).