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Comments
Just watched his tape...he's fast and quick. Plays receiver, punt returner as well as safety...we lost some special teams guys this year and he will be a good fit there as well. Got a little bit of McConkey in his step. No slouch.
This pick up makes a lot of sense. Good athlete with good size. Played football and baseball at a high level at Buford. Versatile on defense and special teams. We have lost Javon and Tykee to the NFL and only brought in 1 safety in 2024 class. One of our best special team players, Nyland, entered the portal. Dan Jackson is in his final year. Pope has a few years left to play. Another player from powerhouse Buford is helpful. If Caleb decides to enter the portal, I don't think bringing in Pope would be a drawback for Kirby or Caleb.
Welcome home!
What “Buford Curse?”
Go Dawgs!
Thought Joenel Aguero was a '23 commit?
"IMO...it adds depth to their "dime defense" packages. He can be used all over the defensive backfield as a situational player, also capable of adding to the "safety" rotation and Special Teams. "
So can the other 8 players @SR_JR mentioned play in UGA's S/nickel/dime/ST rotations.
But it would make more sense if Pope wasn't a 1/85th player. He was a 3.9 GPA student at Buford. If he kept his grades up at AL he can walk on, w/the HOPE, as a PWO or grey shirt for next season. And UGA is not under any pressure to find Pope a scholarship immediately.
According to Rivals (updated 1/27/22) Pope was a 3* recruit rated 42nd in the State of GA and the 32nd S nationally. Pope was not rated in Rivals Top 250 national recruits. In 2 seasons at AL Pope played in 11 games mostly on ST's.
The key word there, is...."Was". He "was" a 3-star recruit. The question is...what he is he, now?....after 1 year being molded and trained under the Saban umbrella.
I'd rather have him, "now" than out of HS. Those "ratings & rankings" are nothing more than projections based on inconsistent observation, by people predisposed to a certain athleticism. Has nothing to do with..."can the boy play football"....IMO.
I can't imagine where Scott Weorner would've been rated....and, he was one of the most dynamic Bulldogs of the '80 Champions. The rating system, doesn't take "everything" into account. It's a pretty good tool....but, you can't completely rely on it, to give you everything you need, in player evaluation.
You could be right....he may be a future "TP Player" that transfers at the first sign of adversity. But, I don't think that's who he is. Saban saw fit to give him a scholarship, for a reason. For now, I'll defer to Nick and Kirby's judgement.
And, the judgment of UGA's new DC....[pulled from Bama's Defense]....that came along with him. You know....he's gotta know something about the kid.
"When Pope committed to AL I didn't think he'd play much and eventually transfer." Never said anything about him transferring from UGA "at the 1st sign of adversity". Or ever.
Good players transfer all the time. Usually to get more playing time not necessarily from "adversity". Also I have not seen it listed yet that he was given a scholarship.
As it turns out he didn't play much in 2 years and he transferred. According to Dawgs HQII "in 11 games this past year. He did not record a stat in his action according to the Crimson Tide’s stats". So he WAS a 3* and that's what he has progressed into after 2 years in CFB. 91 snaps, 23 on D and 68 on ST's in 11 games. Very similar to what the 8 players mentioned, that were already here being developed by the UGA staff, posted this season for UGA.
So now he could be Scott Woerner? Okay, you are predicting Pope is a UGA HOF'er. Hopefully he is better than Scott Woerner because if you took 1980 Scott Woerner and ran him out on the field in 2024 logically there is a high probability he would not fare well vs today's athletes.
If he doesn't cost a scholarship and comes on the HOPE Pope is a no lose prospect. Based on what will probably be lost during the 2nd TP window this year he could carve out a nice role and earn a scholarship. Based on what we saw (and who we didn't see) at the end of the year the probability of at least 2 S's hitting the TP in the spring seems high. Pope was a heady HS player with decent size. "Dan Jackson is a good comp. My 1st thought too. Pope probably a little bigger and better athlete." He will be given every chance to show out like any other player.
I saw somewhere, that his performance at Bama was impaired by injury. Did your Stats say anything about that?
I didn't say you said, "he would be a transfer risk". IMO....you implied it. It doesn't matter why or if, he transfers out. Could care less. Either, he can play ball....or, he can't. And, all the "paper-analysis" in the world, won't tell you that.
The fact that Kirby brought him on board, tells me far more than a stat-sheet ever will. Just sayin'...Lol. UGA develops athletes into players....and, players into athletes.
Never "implied" he would transfer from UGA. What I wrote was very clear and can be seen in posts below. You "implied" he would be a UGA HOF'er when you compared him to Scott Woerner. The same Scott Woerner , "Scott Woerner cemented his name among the greatest defensive players in Georgia history after leading the program to a perfect 12-0 national championship season in 1980. " You never learn.
"IMO...it adds depth to their "dime defense" packages. He can be used all over the defensive backfield as a situational player, also capable of adding to the "safety" rotation and Special Teams. " Just like the other 8 players mentioned by @SR_JR. Only the other 8 players mentioned by @SR_JR have been coached by UGA coaches and not the "terrible coaches that will take AL to 4 or 5 losses in '23". You implied he brought something different than the other 8 players mentioned.
Yup I guess he was injured for the 2 years he was there in the 11 games he played in and the 91 snaps is why he didn't record a stat. SMH.