The highest-rated football player in Forsyth County history is heading to Athens.
Four-star tight end Oscar Delp announced his commitment to the University of Georgia on Wednesday at West Forsyth High School, ending a recruitment process that garnered national attention.
"I feel like I always knew in my heart," Delp said. "I really knew after that first game they played Clemson."
Delp attended Georgia's season opener against Clemson in Charlotte, when the Bulldogs won 10-3 and turned many skeptics into believers. Since then, Georgia has risen to No. 1 in the AP poll, and on Wednesday, the Bulldogs scooped up the No. 2 tight end in the country.
Delp was a top target for several dozen Power 5 programs, and he narrowed his list to Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina and Clemson in August.
He will join former West teammates Dylan Fairchild and Drew Southern at Georgia.
"Yeah, they were definitely helping Georgia out," Delp said. "They wanted me to come there, but they respected everything. I mean, Dylan went through the same process and knows how stressful it is. You need to find your fit, and he just wanted me to do that."
Delp's recruitment kicked off last season after West's 42-6 win over Mays in the Corky Kell Classic, when he caught three passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns. The following day, Delp received an offer from the University of Michigan.
It also marked the first time West head coach Dave Svehla saw Delp in action. It didn't take Svehla long to know what he had.
"If you remember back to last year, we didn't have spring practice and the GHSA canceled our fall scrimmages. So, the first time I ever saw Oscar in a West uniform was at the Corky Kell game," said Svehla, who is in his second year at West. "What I saw that night led me to believe he could be pretty special. I thought I saw it in practice, but you never know until they turn on the lights and you play the game. You could kind of see it that night that he's just different."
Through six games this season, Delp leads the team with 31 receptions for 483 yards and three touchdowns, plus one rushing touchdown. Delp finished with 730 yards and nine touchdowns on 43 receptions last season as a junior.
Delp was the subject of several campus-wide recruiting pitches over the summer, as Georgia's fanbase initiated the "#DelpIsADawg" hashtag on Twitter and a popular bar near the University of South Carolina campus lit up "Delp Wanted" on its marquee.
"It was definitely huge," said of the messaging. "It definitely made my decision a lot harder. Going to South Carolina and pretty much being a celebrity was crazy, but the same thing was kind of happening in Athens. Both fanbases were giving me crazy amounts of love. The South Carolina fans were awesome, and I can't thank them enough."
Delp joins Georgia's third-ranked recruiting class that includes significant in-state talent such as five-star linebacker Malaki Starks [Jefferson] and four-star quarterback Gunner Stockton [Rabun County].
Delp is one of 100 All-Americans across the country and will play Jan. 8 in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, as the top 50 players from the East square off against the top 50 players from the West.
"We've got kids in our feeder program and our high school that are willing to work really hard that are goal-oriented people," Svehla said. "We've got a supportive community where this sort of thing matters. We have an administration that supports what we're trying to do here. These kinds of things are not just good for the kids; they're good for the football program, but they're good for the school and they're good for the community. So, we're excited about what those three kids have been able to bring to the community."