The Verdict: What Delp would mean for the Gamecocks

In South Carolina, the verdict is published by the Clerk of Court. In other words, when a jury has reached a verdict, the Clerk of Court, not a member of the jury, announces the verdict to the courtroom.

But in every jury trial – whether criminal or civil – there is no mistaking that the jury, and only the jury, is the finder of all facts.

Starting in August and running throughout the season, I will be writing a weekly column called The Verdict - presented by the Goings Law Firm. And much like a jury, I will try to base my findings and opinions on facts. But unlike a jury, I want to hear from the gallery, both what I got right and what I got wrong.

Gamecock Nation, my second Verdict is that we don’t simply “Want Delp,” we need Delp.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, you probably don’t have social media. Oscar Delp is a high school football player who Carolina has made a priority this recruiting cycle. He has also been the center of a massive Twitter campaign with hundreds (if not thousands) of Carolina fans tweeting “We Want Delp.”

The recruitment of Oscar Delp is important for two reasons. To help illustrate Delp’s significance, I turn to the popular NBC show, The Office.

For those of you familiar with the show, you probably recall the episode Michael goes to the annual Office Supply Convention in Philadelphia.

At first, it seems as if Michael is more concerned with planning a party than he is about selling his products. After getting chastised by Jan, Michael’s boss, for not being productive with his time, Michael makes a massive sale in which he breaks Staples’ exclusive relationship with Hammermill.

Michael primarily made the sale because it was great for business, but he also made the sale to send a message to Jan that he can make big sales.

Like Michael making that big sale, the recruitment of Oscar Delp is important not only because his addition to this roster would better Carolina, but because it would send a message to the SEC that Carolina can and will recruit elite prospects.

So, who is Oscar Delp? He is ranked the second-best tight end in the country. He’s big, he’s physical, and he has all the tools you look for at the tight end position. In short, he is an elite recruit.

The problem is he lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, and the Dawgs are recruiting him just as hard as anyone else. And while Delp has significant connections to the Palmetto State and the University of South Carolina, history has proven that it is almost impossible for Carolina to pull a blue-chip recruit out of Georgia, especially when it’s the University of Georgia as the other suitor.

It has certainly happened. Bryson Allen-Williams and Jamyest Williams are probably two of the best recent examples, with both Georgia-natives taking official visits to Georgia before ultimately signing with Carolina. But often, it’s Carolina falling short to Georgia in recruiting battles.

Let’s be clear: Carolina is not supposed to pull elite recruits out of the state of Georgia. At least that is what we have been programmed to believe. Clemson and Alabama? Fine. Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Florida State? Perhaps. Heck, even Big Ten powers have had success plucking blue-chip recruits out of the Peach State. But not Carolina.

Beating Georgia out for Oscar Delp wouldn’t flip that narrative, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. And if there was ever a recruiting battle that would help Carolina in starting to flip that narrative, this is the one.

And there are reasons to be optimistic. Primarily the fact that Shane Beamer isn’t afraid to go into neighboring states to recruit. (Beamer had a great reputation for his abilities to recruit the state of Texas while at Oklahoma.)

By contrast, for one reason or another, the previous staff did not have that same great reputation when recruiting the state of Georgia.

I was told about a year ago that a sentiment circulating throughout the previous staff was that it was tough to get elite players when recruiting with a Gamecock logo on your chest. And I don’t have a hard time believing that was the mindset when I see the recruiting success Travaris Robinson is having currently at Miami.

That’s why Carolina needs Delp. Much like Michael making that big sale, Beamer securing a commitment from Oscar Delp would signal to the rest of the SEC, especially Georgia, that there is a new kid on the block who doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers. Carolina has the facilities, the fanbase, and the buy-in to be a special football program. Carolina has the ingredients to be an elite program.

And by recruiting the best, it’s starting to act like an elite program.

Regardless of whether Carolina ultimately gets Delp, it’s clear that Carolina isn’t going to make excuses for not winning recruiting battles. The question has flipped from why should we be able to recruit Georgia prospects to why shouldn’t we be able to recruit Georgia prospects.

Of course, recruiting is only half the battle. ESPN’s Ivan Maisel once said, “recruits are grapes, recruiters are farmers, and coaches are winemakers.”

To turn a recruit into a good SEC football player you can’t just be a recruiter, you must be a good coach, and Carolina certainly has a great tight ends coach in Erik Kimrey. As reported by Collyn Taylor in Sunday’s insider report, Coach Kimrey came out swinging when he said, “there are smart kids out there and they’ll see what’s talk and what’s real.” The last time Georgia was in the crosshairs of a Carolina coach, Steve Spurrier was roaming the sidelines.

That being said, at this moment, the facts are clear: Carolina has struggled to win recruiting battles against Georgia. And it has shown on the field with Georgia winning five out of the last six against Carolina. If Carolina isn’t just talk, which Kimrey and others feel confident they will show this season, the Gamecocks have a chance to pull off a big recruiting upset and sign Oscar Delp.

We need to send a message to the SEC that Carolina isn’t going to be pushed around anymore on the recruiting trail. That starts with signing Oscar Delp.

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