Link to Article on The Red & Black
Olivia Sayer
Georgia tight end Oscar Delp (4) in action during practice at Woodruff Practice Fields in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Photo/Landen Todd @whats_landophoto)
Todd Hartley stood at the podium in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall and began his annual press conference with a joke.
“I’m glad I’m not following [Glenn] Schumann this year,” Hartley said. “Anytime you follow Schumann, the crowd might be a little dead.”
Hartley was joking — at least that’s what he told the media — but had the 38-year-old tight ends coach arrived to a dead audience, Hartley’s energy and enthusiasm would have instantly rejuvenated it.
His energy is also apparent when coaching Georgia’s tight ends. Hartley said leading the “best position group in the country” for his alma mater contributes to his enthusiastic persona.
“Working with that G on my chest, that means something to me,” Hartley said. “And so why wouldn’t I be excited?”
The tight ends group, which features five scholarship and six walk-on athletes, will showcase a new depth chart this season. With Brock Bowers off to the NFL, Hartley said junior Oscar Delp is the “unquestioned leader of our room.”
“The biggest growth I’ve seen from Oscar is from a maturity standpoint,” Hartley said. “From the time that Brock left, Oscar just naturally stepped into the head of the tight end room and really hasn’t looked back.”
Behind Delp, the Bulldogs have sophomore Lawson Luckie and former Stanford tight end Ben Yurosek, who took reps as the third string in Georgia’s last open practice.
Hartley said Yurosek, which he clarified is pronounced “your-rah-sick,” brings maturity to the Bulldogs. Yurosek also has a knack for getting yards after the catch, which Hartley said is one of the “main characteristics” Georgia’s tight ends have to possess.
“He has a presence about him that’s calm, poised [and] in control,” Hartley said of the Stanford transfer. “Nothing really, makes him get upset. If a bad play happens, he’s able to put it behind him and move on.”
Hartley said Yurosek’s presence further motivated Luckie to be “the best guy in that room” throughout fall camp. With many starting-caliber players, Hartley said Delp, Luckie and Yurosek will each “play significant roles” for the Bulldogs this season.
In other words, one can expect to see a lot of 12 personnel when Georgia begins its season Aug. 31.