ATHENS, Ga. - At 6-foot-7, Leonard Pope is hard to miss.

Then again, it took a while for him to find a place in the Georgia offense.

The towering tight end had only three catches for 57 yards in the Bulldogs’ first five games. He was sharing the job with Martrez Milner, but neither of them was much more than a glorified offensive lineman.

Suddenly, as if switching on a light, Georgia seemed to realize what sort of problems Pope could create for a defense. Even at 253 pounds, the sophomore is still faster than many linebackers and taller than just about anyone who tries top cover him — usually by several inches.

“It’s tough on a defense,” said Thomas Davis, the Bulldogs’ star safety. “He has some tremendous size, plus he’s got the speed to run by you. That combination of size and speed is always going to be tough.”

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Once David Greene started throwing toward his tight end, Pope usually came down with the ball. Over the last four games, he has 13 catches for 255 yards, including five touchdowns.

“I’m just trying to be a playmaker,” Pope said with a shrug. “I want to get open and catch the ball the best way I can.”

If the past month is any indication, the No. 8 Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) will rely heavily on Pope in Saturday’s crucial game against No. 3 Auburn (9-0, 6-0) — either to keep making catches, or free up things for the other offensive weapons.

The Tigers could put a safety on Pope, but at the risk of assigning single coverage to senior receivers Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown. Pope also could draw the linebackers downfield, creating more running room for freshman sensation Thomas Brown.

While Pope’s route-running and pass-catching skills are still a work in progress, he’s made tremendous strides this season.

“He’s a much-improved player,” Davis said. “He’s worked on his game a whole lot, and it’s showing on the field. He’s coming up big when we need him.”

The tight end position has never played a huge role in coach Mark Richt’s offense, but Pope is clearly changing that philosophy.

“He’s a mismatch for just about anybody,” Richt said. “There’s not many safeties out there who are 6-7 and 250-something pounds. He’s got great reach and good speed. The more he understands about what we do and how we do it, the better off he’ll be.”

Pope concedes that his transition to the college game has included plenty of bumps along the way. As a freshman, he played sparingly behind Ben Watson, making only one catch in 12 games.

“Last year was kind of bad for me,” Pope said. “I was a freshman trying to learn a lot of plays. Greene, (backup quarterback D.J.) Shockley and the offensive linemen were good about keeping me straight on the plays. It’s all coming to me right now.”

Well, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“His route-running is not as precise as it was earlier in the year,” Richt said. “He’s got to get better with that. But he’s such a big target. To his credit, he’s catching that ball.”

Pope’s size gives the quarterbacks a little more room for error.

“I’m just trying to be an athlete,” he said. “I don’t depend on Greene and Shockley to throw me an accurate ball every time. I just try to go out there and make plays.”

The surest sign of Pope’s impact is some of the comments he hears from those guys trying to defend him.

“They’re always saying, ’Dang, you’re tall. Dang, you’re a big guy,”’ he said, breaking into a satisfied smile. “I tell them that I always ate my cereal when I was little.”

It’s sure paying off now.