Georgia Bulldogs College Football Pregame Quote, 12/30/2024

Q. I heard people say him (Gunner Stockton) being a Georgia kid, he’s kind of got some ‚Äì people tell me, like vinegar in his piss so to speak. Is he kind of a different type of guy, like fiery guy? How would you, I guess, describe him?

OSCAR DELP: Yeah, definitely on the field. He gets fired up. He plays with passion. There’s nothing more that he loves than playing football. He’s such a genuine guy. When you see him walking around, daylight, he’s a normal guy. He’s super genuine, super cool. He’s everything you want in a buddy.

Q. Did we blow up too much about him (Gunner Stockton) having that old F-150?

OSCAR DELP: That’s just Gunner. That’s who he is. We see it every day, but when people see that in today’s day and age, they kind of freak out. That’s who he is. He’s genuine. That’s his roots.

Q. Are they (Carson Beck/ Gunner Stockton) similar in any ways, or are they a lot different mentally?

OSCAR DELP: They got their similarities and their differences. They are both really smart. I mean, they know everything you could know about football. Carson is a city guy and Gunner is a country guy. That’s how I am. I’m not as country as Gunner is, but they get along, and we all get along.

It’s super cool to have two guys like that in a room that are just ‚Äì on the outside, they look completely different. They are so tight knit and so close just because of how we are with each other every day. And it’s definitely something we go through together. It’s super cool.

Q. Very broad question. So choose however to answer it. What makes Gunner [Stockton] a good quarterback?

OSCAR DELP: I don’t think there’s a single play you can call that he can’t do. The kid can do everything. You can tell him to throw a deep ball, he will throw it. You can tell him to take off and run with it. He can do everything.

Q. Talk about just the tight end group, the receivers group, you got a lot of criticism this year about not performing up to what everybody expected. What has it been like dealing with that and hearing that all the time?

OSCAR DELP: What matters is what happens in our building. Everyone will always have something to say outside. There’s going to be a lot of outside noise always. But we’re all confident in each other. The coaches are confident in us, or they wouldn’t have us out there doing what we are doing. We’re going to keep getting opportunities. Missed plays are going to happen, but we’re also going to make some. So just got to do what we do and keep practicing hard and just do it every day at practice.

Q. You have been around it, what makes Kirby Smart so good when you guys have two weeks to prepare for a game?

OSCAR DELP: I think he does a really good job of keeping us focused on ourselves and just kind of letting everyone understand that we don’t got to focus on the outside noise. We got to focus on today and getting better ourselves and working on ourselves. So kind of keeps everyone on the same page.

We are not looking too far ahead. We’re not looking behind. Just focusing on the moment.

Q. What do you think of Notre Dame and that defense? They are so good on the outside. I mean, they got the number one pass defense, as far as pass rating against opposing quarterbacks. What makes them so good?

OSCAR DELP: They cause turnovers. They make big plays. They have a big D-line. They have good backs. They are good everywhere. They are a really physical defense. They will make you beat them one on one. Best on best. I think they do a really good job attacking the ball, and it’s something we got to take into consideration, take care of the ball and just do what we do.

Q. Oscar, as tight end, you have been a threat all year. What could you speak to as far as Kirby Smart’s use of the tight end?

OSCAR DELP: We are out there every play. We’re an option every play. Not every pass goes where it’s drawn up to go to. A lot of things have to happen for us to get the ball, and I think us just being a viable option every play is what matters. There’s plays you wish you could have back and stuff you want to happen. You have to go with the flow and do your job.

Q. Being from Georgia as a part of the 2022 signing class, what does it mean to continue to don the red and black?

OSCAR DELP: It’s awesome. We were just talking about it the other day. The portal and everything that’s going on today, it’s kind of crazy when you see who you came in with and who you are going to leave with. Our class is really tight. We are really close together, all of us. It’s super cool to see all of these guys go up through high school and college now and get to finish it out.

Q. You mentioned the portal. We have the portal starting during the season which there has been a lot of scrutiny there, coupled with the rise and the fall of the CFP rankings where every spot matters. How have you guys really stayed focused all season blocking out the portal noise or the CFP noise or dealing with two losses, one early on and one later, how have you stayed focused and competed down the stretch?

OSCAR DELP: I think with the portal, I don’t think any of us really even looked at. If you are a guy on this team, cares about this team and you are contributing to where we need you and you will be part of our goals and aspirations, that never crosses your mind while you are here. We only need the guys in this building right now that want to be here and want to be with us. I don’t think that’s been a really big issue for us.

What was the second part? Sorry.

Q. The second part was how you guys stay focused down the stretch, dealing with two losses, one early and one later.

OSCAR DELP: Yeah, yeah. It really comes down to we really control our own destiny from day one.

We know today’s day and age, you can have kind of those slip ups. It sucks to have them, but they happen. We can control what we can control. And you have to focus on the next play, the next game, the next day, and can’t dwell on things, can’t look forward past things and focus on the moment. And do what you are supposed to do and things will turn out the right way.

Q. Off the field, kind of old-fashioned. Obviously, his truck got a lot of notoriety this week. When he steps on the field, it seems look a switch flips and he becomes someone who will run through a defender. He had the hit against Texas. What is that on-field personality like with Gunner [Stockton]?

OSCAR DELP: It’s completely different and not a lot of people get to see it, just because of who he is in the locker room. He’s super calm, genuine cool guy, and then we kind of got our first taste of it. I’ve seen it just from seeing him play in high school and stuff, but a lot of our team didn’t get to see it until that first run and the hit he had on the sideline where he started yelling in at his face.

I’m like, okay, that’s Gunner when he plays. It’s exciting. He fires up everyone around him, and he brings the team closer. We are excited for him and get to see him do his thing.