Chris Pope Is Key Player at Valdosta

Life has been a roller-coaster ride for Valdosta State University linebacker Chris Pope, a Jackson High School graduate, but he had the time of his life last weekend.

On Saturday, Dec. 15, Pope and his fellow Valdosta State Blazers stepped onto a football field in Florence, Ala., to play in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. Better yet, the Blazers won, defeating the Winston-Salem State Rams 35-7.

The Blazers, who played in their fourth-ever NCAA Division II National Championship Game, finished the season 12-2, winning their last 10 games in a row. They defeated a previously unbeaten Winston-Salem State team, which had averaged 42.6 points per game entering the contest, largely thanks to the defensive effort.

Pope led the Blazers defense in the 35-7 win with a team-high 10 tackles and a crucial fumble recovery that ended a Rams third-quarter drive at the Blazers’ two-yard line.

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“We had to get some pressure back there and [linebacker Jeremy] Grable came through and he grabbed him first and just ripped it out,” Pope told Valdosta Daily Times Blazers football beat writer Ed Hooper after the game.

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I was able to recover it. … We knew they had a little drive going, and it was a two-possession game at the time. They had ran the ball down on us pretty good, and we needed a stop.”

Pope has been a major contributor to his team’s success, compiling a team-high 127 tackles this season from his linebacker spot. His tackling totals have increased in each of his three years at Valdosta, with 61 tackles as a freshman in 2010 and a team-high 92 tackles last year.

With 280 tackles recorded through three seasons, Pope will be within range of breaking the all-time Valdosta State career tackles record next season. The current career tackles record is held by Larry Dean, a linebacker with the Minnesota Vikings, with 368 tackles. Jesse Tuggle, an Atlanta Falcons legend, previously held the record with 340 tackles.

With production comes praise, and the accolades for Pope are piling up as well. He earned first team All-Gulf South Conference honors in each of his past two seasons. Pope was also named this year to the Daktronics Super Region 2 All-Region second-team defense, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Hooper said Pope has been a tremendous asset to the team on and off the field.

“He’s one of the team captains, and he’s definitely the leader of the defense,” Hooper said. “He’s been playing since he was a freshman, and he’s a junior now so he’s been around and been through the big wins and last-minute losses over the last couple seasons. He’s one of the most experienced guys on the defense despite only being a junior.”

Experience, whether it’s on the football field or in the game of life, is something Pope didn’t start at Valdosta, but back when he was just coming into the varsity squad for the Jackson High School football team seven years ago.

“When we got him in high school, he was a real tough kid to get through to. He had some struggles,” said his high school head coach Mike Parris. “He’s the perfect example of how football can be good for a kid on a personal level. He really grew up during his time here. He was always a good player, he’s just really grown up and he’s a great kid. We’re really proud of him and everything he’s accomplished.”

Pope cites joining the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a nationwide club that aims to unite athletes and coaches of all ages under Christian ideals, as a contributor to his personal growth while at Valdosta State.

“I didn’t always make the best choices, and it was just time for a change. I didn’t want to be like that anymore,” Pope said. “When I came to college, I really started trying to get my life right and devoted myself to go to FCA here, and it just changed me as a person.

“I just want to try to be a role model back to the kids in Jackson,” Pope continued. “Because I was in a lot of their same shoes in terms of feeling like I’d been thrown under the bus. I just want to show kids in Jackson that they can make it too, no matter what the circumstances are.”

Pope has done outreach work through FCA, which includes a mission trip he took to the Bahamas with his fellow teammates and classmates from Valdosta.

“The best thing about going over there was just to be a light to the kids over there,” Pope said.

And he’s grown just as much on the field as he has off it.

Hooper said the tackles record that Pope is closing in on is a conversation that has floated around Valdosta circles since his 21-tackle game against Carson-Newman College on Dec. 1.

“[Larry] Dean was in Minnesota with us and for the game last week and we said, ‘You know, your record could get broken,’ and he said, ‘If there’s a guy to break it, I want Chris Pope to break it,’” Hooper said. “I think that says quite a bit about what Chris Pope means to this team. He’ll have to put together another great season next year to do it, but he definitely has a shot.”

But Pope would be the first one to tell you that he’d trade in all that shiny hardware representing his individual achievements for the national championship trophy.

“I’d trade in a tackling record for a championship every time,” Pope said on the eve of the biggest game of his life. “This is what this whole team has been working hard for. This is why I came to Valdosta State.”

That hard work paid off.

Chris Pope is the grandson of Arlene Pope of Monticello.

This article was reprinted here with permission from the Jackson Progress Argus from December 19 and was originally written by Joe Patrick.