ATHENS — The tight end position made a welcome return to the Georgia passing game on Saturday, reminding fans just how much talent the Bulldogs have stacked at the position.

Tight end Lawson Luckie went out for the coin flip as one of the team captains, but it was freshman Elyiss Williams shining brightest as a pass catcher in the 35-14 win over Kentucky.

Williams had three catches for 48 yards, while veteran Oscar Delp caught one pass for 36 yards in the Georgia tight ends’ biggest contribution to receiving yardage in a game this season (84 yards).

“Yeah, Elyiss is a worker,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said of the 6-foot-7, 255-pound freshman talent from Camden County High School. “He actually spends, I don’t know, 50, 60 percent of his time on the scout team.”

After seeing how Williams gets open and catches the ball so fluidly, one might wonder why the freshman isn’t getting more work with the starters, as he presents a big target.

Williams’ impressive footwork is likely a byproduct of his two-sport background, as he also played basketball in high school.

Smart likes that Williams is growing more physical, as that will be a key to more playing time with Georgia applying its tight ends as blockers as well as receiving threats.

“He’s becoming a really physical presence, a blocker, and he’s obviously a big target,” Smart said. “I mean, some of those (passes) were just lucky they went his way. (One) was a bootleg, he was the third option and it went to him.

“It could have been Luckie or Oscar, but it just so happened it was him.”

Smart doesn’t need to apologize for using the young talent on his roster, particularly on a day that Georgia’s offense came to life.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton found Williams on the Bulldogs’ opening drive for an 8-yard gain, and then it was back-up Ryan Puglisi connecting with the big target for a 27-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter.

After the teams took a short break between quarters, Puglisi hooked up with Williams again, this time for 13 yards down to the Kentucky 20.

Delp, the veteran tight end and most consistent producer in the group, helped Georgia get started with an impressive catch and run on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the second half.

Delp caught a pass from Stockton 5 yards from the line of scrimmage and took it another 31 yards before being brought down at the Wildcats 5-yard line.

Smart has been wanting to see the tight ends break tackles and make yards after the catch, so Delp’s play bodes well for future contributions.

Smart has said that on many occasions, tight end receiving production is often a byproduct of Georgia getting the run game going to set up play-action passes, and that appears to be coming to fruition.

With Kentucky and other opponents paying closer attention to receiver Zachariah Branch, things should begin to open up for others.

Here’s a look at how the Bulldogs tight ends have fared this season in catches and yards receiving:

Tight End Season receiving stats

Oscar Delp 4 catches, 5 targets, 87 yards

Elyiss Williams 4 catches, 4 targets, 71 yards

Lawson Luckie 4 catches, 8 targets, 31 yards

Tight End receiving stats by game

Vs. Kentucky

Elyiss Williams 3 catches (3 targets), 48 yards

Oscar Delp 1 catch (1 target), 36 yards

Lawson Luckie 0 catch (1 target)

Vs. Alabama

Oscar Delp 0 catch (1 target)

Vs. Tennessee

Lawson Luckie 3 catches (4 targets), 25 yards

Oscar Delp 1 catch (1 target), 18 yards

Vs. Austin Peay

Lawson Luckie 0 catch (1 target)

Vs. Marshall

Oscar Delp 2 catches (2 targets), 33 yards

Elyiss Williams 1 catch (1 target), 23 yards, TD

Lawson Luckie 1 catch (2 targets), 6 yards