Juco LB has SEC ties
Searching for the most highly recruited junior college linebacker in the country?
Look no further than Garden City (Kansas) Community College. That’s where 6-foot, 223-pound weak-side linebacker Derrick Pope resides.
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Pope, who played high school ball at Galveston (Texas) Ball, is leading his nationally ranked junior college team in tackles. He has 57 stops through three games this season.
He accounted for 21 solo tackles against Independence on Saturday night alone.
Pope is on schedule to graduate in May.
Though top-rated schools like Washington, Michigan State, South Carolina and Mississippi State have offered Pope a scholarship, he’s whittled his list to five. Those five include Arkansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
Arkansas and Alabama may have the inside track.
“I feel like the SEC is the best football conference out there,” Pope said. “I respect the Big 12 and I like some of the teams a whole lot. But to me, the SEC is probably the best.”
At both Alabama and Arkansas, Pope has strong ties to the programs.
At Alabama, his uncle Ken Pope is an assistant. At Arkansas, former Ball High teammates Marvin Jackson and Lawrence Richardson start in the secondary. In fact, Pope said he was committed to the Crimson Tide at one point earlier this spring.
“I wouldn’t really say I have a specific leader, just that I like the SEC the most right now.”
Pope’s first visit will not be until Dec. 14 because he expects to be playing in the Junior College National Championship game. 3-0 Garden City is ranked No. 2 in the nation.
His younger brother Roshawn Pope is a senior quarterback at Galveston Ball. The younger Pope is leaning to Nebraska, and is also considering Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Arkansas.