If it were up to him, Dinwiddie, Virginia, four-star linebacker K'Vaughan Pope would have committed to Ohio State when he visited for a one-day camp in early June.
It wasn't until the staff got a look at his final junior transcripts and he checked out a few other schools, however, that he got the go-ahead and pledged his services to the Buckeyes during a ceremony at his high school on Friday evening.
I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I AM COMMITTED TO THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY pic.twitter.com/2vFW9AuGjs
— THE POPE (@Pop3Bad_81) August 4, 2017
The Pope File
- Class: 2018
- Size: 6-foot-2, 210 pounds
- Pos: LB
- School: Dinwiddie (VA)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 7 (ILB)
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Pope is considered the seventh-best inside linebacker and No. 168 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He picked Ohio State over more than a dozen other offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
The Buckeyes offered Pope a scholarship last November, but weren't a serious contender for his services until he took an unofficial visit for spring practices in early April. Like it does with so many other recruits, the program's Real Life Wednesdays seems to have made a lasting impression.
"I think what caught his attention was life after football," Dinwiddie running backs coach Dequan Coles told Eleven Warriors. "He loved the opportunities after Ohio State. Obviously he wants to play in the NFL, but he knows that if that doesn't work then he's pretty much guaranteed a great job with a degree from Ohio State."
As mentioned, Pope had every intention of committing to the staff during the aforementioned camp visit. But asked to first fax in his junior transcripts, he held off on making the call. Pope then told Eleven Warriors at Nike Football's The Opening Finals in early July he planned to commit soon after he flew back home from Oregon — as the transcripts were on linebackers coach Bill Davis' desk and awaiting review — but he announced shortly thereafter he was pushing back his commitment in order to visit a few other schools.
Pope visited Georgia — Florida and Tennessee were also two rumored destinations over the last month — and then set an announcement date for this evening. And now with ability to compare Ohio State to a few other schools, he was given the green light to commit.
Pope, who wants to major in business and eventually open a body shop to paint and fix damaged vehicles, becomes the 17th member of Ohio State's 2018 recruiting class. He joins fellow four-star prospects Dallas Gant and Teradja Mitchell at the linebacker position.
