K'Vaughan Pope, Dismissed Ohio State Linebacker, Criticizes Program on Twitter

Pope left the team midway through a game this fall.

On Saturday, as Ohio State put together an impressive comeback to win the Rose Bowl against Utah, former Buckeye cornerback Marcus Williamson aired his grievances with the program, calling out former coach Urban Meyer in a few instances. On Monday, Williamson was joined by one of his former teammates: K'Vaughan Pope.

During Ohio State's win over Akron in September, Pope stormed off the field, appearing to quit on the program in the middle of a game, after throwing gear into the stands before leaving for the locker room. Following the game he tweeted, and subsequently deleted, “f--- ohio state. He was dismissed from the program shortly after.

Pope is now in the transfer portal.

Pope, who is yet to land with another program, has retweeted a few of Williamson's messages. Monday he added his own issues with the Buckeyes program.

- coaches first program guy (they are not a players first program)
- treated as if players opinions have no say so (because your body & mental doesn’t matter)
- players point of view can’t be seen (because coaches claim it has happened to them)

— Pop Smoke, Mike Vick or Lamar Jackson (@VonP04) January 4, 2022

“I'M WINNING,” Pope added after making his issues with Ohio State known.

While a number of notable former Buckeyes took to the defense of Ohio State and Meyer in response to Williamson, he and Pope aren't completely on an island. Offensive lineman Dawand Jones, a junior who played in the Rose Bowl and is now considering his NFL draft options, appeared to support Williamson.

💯 https://t.co/tEcocEnLrY

— Dawand Jones (@dawandj79) January 2, 2022

After the September incident, Pope apologized to his teammates and coaches for the blowup.

“Last night I let my emotions get the best of me,” he said on Twitter. “For that I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Buckeye Nation. I made a mistake and know that I need to be better and do better. I’m going to take this time to reflect and work on my mental well-being."

Based on Monday's activity, his issues with his former program don't look fully resolved.

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