David Pollack: Georgia's Tight End Room is "One of the Best in History"

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ATLANTA– The tight end unit for the Georgia Bulldogs is ridiculous. 

Former Bulldog defensive lineman David Pollack thinks they are historical. 

“This is one of the best tight end rooms in the history of college football- in the history of the game,” Pollack told Dawg Post at SEC Media Days. 

Given the group has not played together quite yet, that will remain to be seen, but just looking at that portion of the roster has Georgia fans anxious in a good way and opposing defensive coordinators anxious in a bad way. 

Brock Bowers, Darnell Washington, Arik Gilbert and Oscar Delp are the headline names for a position group that has garnered high praise from the national media. Multiple outlets have crowned the Georgia tight ends as the best position group in college football.

Bowers did not win the John Mackey Award after a phenomenal freshman season where he amassed 938 total yards and 14 total touchdowns (two of those in the College Football Playoff). However, the Napa, California native is widely seen as the top tight end in the country. His presence alone is difficult to gameplan for, yet the entire unit has matchup nightmare written all over it. 

“Brock Bowers was the best tight end in the country last year. To me, it wasn’t even close,” Pollack said. “Now you add Arik Gilbert, who’s a freak, and Darnell Washington is probably the most physically gifted tight end in terms of blocking and things you can do with him.”

Gilbert’s debut in the red and black will come a year later than people anticipated, but he is an elite addition to the Dawgs’ weapons. Georgia’s spring game was the first opportunity for the public to see what Gilbert can offer since his freshman year at LSU. What the public saw was two touchdown receptions, clear chemistry with Stetson Bennett and a physically dominating force.

The excitement for Gilbert is at an all-time high since he was an impressive high school prospect right outside of Atlanta. As physically dominant as Gilbert is, he is not even the most imposing person in the position group. Again, at 6’5” and north of 250 pounds, Gilbert is not the most physically intimidating player. How about that? 

That is because of Washington, who has a similar measurements to LeBron James. He is a piece that has not been unlocked the way that Bowers was. Washington’s blocking capabilities have been his biggest contribution, and we’ve really only seen glimpses of him as a receiver.

Washington’s only career touchdown in the SEC Championship game was an example of the red zone threat he is. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken has an unleashed weapon in Washington. 

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Delp is a player that Pollack didn’t even mention in the conversation. He showed his abilities at Georgia’s spring game as well, and he is poised for some playing time as a freshman. He brought in a game-high seven receptions at G-Day for 91 yards. 

“Delp’s unique blend of size and athleticism at 6’5” and 235 pounds makes him a mismatch,” Dawg Post’s Matt DeBary said. “His ability to run routes like a receiver and break tackles after the catch give him an opportunity to see the field early in Athens.”

Gilbert and Delp operated as the lead tight ends this spring with Bowers and Washington out with injuries.

This could be disguisedly beneficial for Georgia. It allowed Delp to develop immediately, and it helped Gilbert with his reintroduction into a college football program and work on his body (which was admittedly out of playing shape).

“He (Gilbert) got a great opportunity this spring. People forget Darnell and Brock were both out. The opportunity he got, he seized that opportunity to grow and develop,” Kirby Smart said. “He will have to continue to do that to be a major contributor for us. He's bought into doing that, being a team player.”

The additions of Gilbert and Delp to Bowers and Washington is exciting. The word exciting is a fit here because of the personnel possibilities.

“You want to play nickel? Okay, we’ll smash you in the face with those guys. You want to play base? Okay, we’ll spread you out and we’ll throw the football,” Pollack said.

Monken has an opportunity to put all four of the talented players on the field at once, which would be entertaining to all of the Georgia fans on social media hoping for it to happen. Maybe a personnel group with all four of them would be lethal? 

With what feels like an inevitable defensive step back, Pollack thinks the Bulldog offense needs to be better than it was during the championship season.

“It will have to be better, so I think it will be more explosive than a year ago,” Pollack said.

How much worse the defense will be is not something we know right now. Georgia’s defense is poised to be very good again, just not generational. 

Georgia’s offense was one of the 10 best in the sport in 2021. That was overlooked. They are better on paper than they were in 2021. 

Pollack is probably right about the offense. If Georgia is to win another championship this season, the offense is going to have to improve. That chance to improve is high. The weapons Georgia is loaded with are stars. Combine that with a complete offseason of chemistry building with Bennett now that he is the undisputed starting quarterback. 

The tight ends could end up being historical.