Bigger, stronger Pope hoping to impress early

#1
Shades

Shades

30 minutes of ball and we are smokin at the end
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#1
Another good interview with a Class of 2016 signee, Austin Pope.

Something about this kid I really like. Working hard to put on muscle and get stronger. Putting lots of hours in watching films of last year's games he recorded and studying how UT uses tight ends. Great attitude and hungry to contribute however the coaches need him to.


From 247:
Bigger, stronger Pope hoping to impress early

Bigger, stronger Austin Pope hoping to impress early for Tennessee Vols football

The Tennessee signee from nearby Christian Academy of Knoxville has done his best to hit the ground running for the Vols, pushing himself mentally and physically in the hopes of giving his hometown team some help as a true freshman.

After playing his senior season at approximately “210 or 212” pounds, Pope said he now has 238 sturdy pounds on his 6-foot-4.5 frame.
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“I’ve really packed on the pounds, and not like in a bad way. It’s strictly muscle. I swear all I eat is chicken, fish or steak. Mom has done a great job of making me breakfast every morning and giving me the right stuff — eggs and all that, drinking milk. I’m trying to do all the right things to gain the right weight instead of just gaining weight in general.

“I’m definitely happy with the weight I’m at right now. I’m not just exactly what the want me at, but my own personal goal for the next two months before the season would definitely be to like in the high 240s.
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While Pope couldn’t get his hands on copies of the actual coaches’ film from Tennessee’s games last season, he did the best thing he could do. He recorded all the games at home and has watched every game multiple times.

“I think I know the game of football very well for my age,” he said. “I love studying film. I even recorded all the Tennessee games last season on my DVR, and I’ve gone back and watched all of ‘em. I’ve probably the watched the Georgia game a million times, and I’ve watched what the tight end does — where he lines up, where he goes in motion, what he’s trying to do.

“Even if I don’t have the coaches’ film, I’ll still watch it on my TV and try to replay it over and over. I definitely consider myself a student of the game, and I think I’ll be able to pick up on it really quickly.”
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“I’m still gonna go out there and try to be the best player I can be and try to be the best guy on the field and hustle my butt off and get everything I can out of what I have.”

Pope said he plans to continue doing the same things he’s always tried to do on the football field. He plans to listen to his coaches, follow their instructions and then line up and try to beat his opponent on every snap.
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I know that they know I have multiple layers of skills, and I hope they put that to use. I don’t know. I’m just kind of coming in eyes wide open, I guess you could say. I’m just ready for them to put me somewhere on the field. I don’t care if it’s special teams, offense, defense. Doesn’t matter. If they switched me over to linebacker or wanted me to move to slot wide receiver, I don’t care. I just want to be on the field somewhere and be a factor and help the team.

“I don’t have much anxiety. It’s just excitement. Pure excitement. I’m just ready to start this new chapter in my life and get in the weight room and develop some camaraderie with some great guys and have a great three or four years and win a championship.”
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CBJ's recent quote in ESPN article:
"Make no mistake about it: The first thing in our recruiting profile is character."
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#2
#2
Bigger, stronger Pope hoping to impress early

Geez, CBJ is a great recruiter but the Pope??......
 
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#4
#4
The guy is HUUUGE

original
 
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#5
#5
I remember a few months back how excited the city of Philly was when this guy came to visit. After seeing some of his film and reading articles about him like this 1 I can see why they were all kinds of bent out of shape. The guy could be a legend. Heck. Even a small god type figure to some.
 
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#7
#7
I remember hearing about his dad's death. To my understanding, they were really close, and the whole family is a class act.

He may not be one of the most highly rated members of his class, but he might be one of the hardest working. One I hope fans get behind and encourage.
 
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#19
#19
I sure wish that every player had his heart and desire. Hopefully his hard work and dedication pays off, and someday maybe Pope will be mentioned with Witten.
 
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#21
#21
Will "POPE" be wearing one of those post hole digger helmets?? :blink::blink:





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#22
#22
From AllForTennessee.com
Pope already has the best hands of any incoming recruit this year for the Vols, and he might already have the best hands on the football team period. Yes, it is safe to say that if you look at his highlights. He spent a high school career making up for poor quarterback play with his amazing hands.

From an athletic standpoint, Pope is everything you need at tight end. He is quick enough in pads to get to the right spot, and he has a clear understanding of angles and making the right steps, evidenced by how lethal he can be at linebacker.

Right now, the biggest thing for Pope has got to be adding on some more pounds to make him fit to play tight end while not giving up his athletic advantages at the same time.

Fortunately, that won’t be as hard for him because he already has the hands, and they won’t go away if he puts on some strength.

As far as intelligence and understanding the game, Pope has incredible awareness for a high school player and understands all the nuances of being in the right position, something that will not go away in college if he picks up the speed.
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From 247:
Pope’s reason for wanting a unique number was simple: He didn’t want anything getting in the way of him being able to help the Vols as a true freshman.

“They gave me a lot of different choices of numbers,” Pope said. “I could have had my high school number (No. 16), but I know they double numbers in college, and I really wanted a number that nobody else had. I didn’t want somebody on defense having the same number as me, because I didn’t want to limit my chances of playing time. I didn’t want somebody else limiting my time on special teams or anything like that.

“Now I can play any special teams, if I earn it. I just want to get on the field somewhere. That limited it a little bit, obviously, but I like No. 81. It’s a good number.”

Pope said he’d line up “anywhere” Tennessee wanted him on offense, special teams or even on defense, but the Vols’ new No. 81 obviously hopes to remain at the tight end position he loves.
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#23
#23
The collective character and maturity of the guys in this latest recruiting class is very impressive.
 
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