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If you're a player at Georgia, an unspoken part of your job is paying it forward.
Part of the conversation around Athens this week was about how current Georgia players have benefitted from the lessons learned by the players who came before them. Tight end Oscar Delp is preparing for his last regular-season game in Athens, which made him think back to those who set him up for success.
"It's special, you know, to see those older guys in front of you," Delp said. "It all starts with the older guys. You know, they're bringing on the young guys, and just to be able to play with Brock [Bowers] is unreal. He's one of my best friends to this day still. Keep in touch with him all the time.
"I'm just so grateful to be able to play with him and Darnell [Washington] and those guys, and just, I wouldn't be half the player I am today if I didn't get to learn from them."
Delp was thrown into the fire behind Bowers and Washington back in 2022, and the reps he received alongside them proved invaluable over the years. Cornerback Demello Jones is still getting his feet under him in Athens, but he's also received mentorship from a Bulldog who is making noise in the NFL.
Jones got to Georgia about the time Kamari Lassiter was leaving, but Lassiter was at nearly every spring practice session as he prepared for the draft. That overlap allowed him to become something of a mentor to Jones, who now tries to model his game after the Houston Texans star.
"He'll say, 'Keep working, young bull.' It coming from him, it means a lot to me," Jones said of Lassiter. "That he just even cares to, like, take time out of his day to even say anything to me and just giving me more confidence and just helping me build, I want to thank him for that."
Perhaps the most impressive part of the older players lending a helping hand is the organic nature of it.
Kirby Smart explained he's not really involved in the NFL players influencing the current group of Bulldogs. That said, Smart expressed his appreciation for those who take the time to help the guys who are now giving the Bulldogs all they've got.
"I know that there's a brotherhood there. Kamari's a guy that came back a lot," Smart said. "Demello's a great kid, and he appreciates the guys who played here before him — all our kids do. But to say how often it happens, I don't know. Those guys, when they come back to games they get to know the younger players, and with social media the way it is nowadays everybody knows everybody."
An NFL player reaching out carries weight, but so does an upperclassmen passing along words of wisdom.
Delp takes his role as a veteran player seriously, which for him includes pouring into the younger guys during the offseason to get them up to speed. Delp felt that encouragement has paid off, and he was confident that a young Georgia player could be plugged in at any position with very little drop-off.
Delp has done his part to make sure the underclassmen are imparted with some of the knowledge that Bowers and Washington handed down to him. Delp is also hopeful that those younger players take as much pride in making his Senior Day special as he did for the Dawgs who came before him.
"When I was younger and those older guys were playing their Senior Day, it didn't matter who you were playing, you wanted to set them off the right way," Delp said. "I think that's going to juice everyone up this week, and we're excited. I'm excited, and, you know, for it to be possibly my last game in Sanford, it's going to mean a lot to me."