'16 TN TE/LB Austin Pope (UT commit 6/15/15)

#102
#102
First off:

BOOOOM!

Secondly:

I think we either need to see if Brooks is ok with a blue/gray shirt, or part ways with him. In such a small class, I don't think we can take 2 TE's with one having multiple ACL tears.
 
#103
#103
200w.gif
 
#123
#123
butchna said:
:acute: Bet it seemed like a great point when you were typing it out. :)
Click to expand...

Oh I know the routine by fans...when one fan base does something you mock it...when Tennessee does it then its a great idea/pick up/VFL....its all good just cracks me up.
 
#124
#124
“I guess when you have a good thing, you just know,” said Pope, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 541 overall prospect and No. 24 tight end in the 247Sports Composite for the 2016 class. “I went to a bunch of different places, and I didn’t feel at those places like I did at UT. The coaches, the rest of the staff, the people, the players there — I mean, everything about it, I just fell in love with, and I just didn’t feel that anywhere else.

“Every other school I visited were the only realistic schools that I could actually see myself playing for at the time. But it just came down to it that UT is the place for me, and I’m thankful to be a Vol.”

The 6-foot-4.5, 220-pound Pope gave the Vols their 11th known commitment for the 2016 class and their second from a tight end. Tennessee’s other tight-end commitment, Top247 prospect Devante Brooks of Washington, D.C., recently tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for the second time in less than a year.

Pope made the short drive to Tennessee’s campus June 7, the day after he received his offer from the Vols, to visit with coach Butch Jones and first-year offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. He returned there Thursday to participate in Tennessee’s camp.

He admitted that he knew by the end of the camp that he wanted to play for the Vols.

“As soon as I left that camp, I mean, I was just floored,” he said. “I just felt like that was the place for me. I felt like I knew that Thursday right after I left the camp. Even during the camp and toward the end, I was just like, ‘Man, this is my place.’
(Photo: Adam Lau, Knoxville News Sentinel)

“I went to Missouri (on Friday) and Nebraska (on Saturday) with an open mind, seeing if I could feel that same way again, but that just didn’t happen for me. I just knew right then and there that those are all schools that I thought I could play for and be a part of, and it just came down to Tennessee is that school for me.”

Pope said he called Jones on Monday to make his decision official.

“He was the first person I called before I put it on Twitter, and as soon as he answered the phone, he said, ‘Wow, that was weird,’” Pope said. “I said, what do you mean that was weird? He said, ‘I was just going to message you.’ And then I told him, and he was ecstatic. I’m actually coming up there tomorrow to visit with all of them.

“I called him and (defensive coordinator John) Jancek and Coach DeBord, and I talked to (tight ends) coach (Mark) Elder. (Jones) was really excited. He told me he wished he could jump through the phone and hug me.”

Pope said Jones and Elder, who worked with him throughout Thursday’s camp, played a major role in his decision.

“Everywhere I went, me and my mom, we made a pros-and-cons list of everything — facilities, coaches, everything in between — and Tennessee was the only one that didn’t have any cons,” said Pope, who also received offers from Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Missouri, among others.

“Everything just fell perfectly into place. I mean, I love Coach Jones to death. He’s a fiery kind of guy. He’s my kind of coach. And Coach Elder knows what he’s talking about. He seems like a great coach, and he’s a very personable guy. And I just feel like that’s where I belong.”

-Callahan 247

Local TE Austin Pope 'fell in love' with Tennessee Vols
 
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