COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the Ohio State football team continues to see more contributions from young defensive players, some veterans appear to be frustrated by their diminished roles.
One senior linebacker, Dallas Gant, entered the transfer portal earlier this week. Another, K’Vaughan Pope, went to the locker room in the second quarter of Saturday’s game after appearing to get into an argument with coaches on the sideline.
Pope threw his gloves into the crowd at one point and appeared to try to take off his jersey. Players and coaches attempted to calm him down, but eventually he was escorted to the locker room.
According to those who saw the start of the incident, Pope started to enter the game as a substitute but was waved off. He became visibly upset immediately afterward.
Pope Tweeted “good lucc (sic) to my teammates” at halftime, then tweeted an obscenity at Ohio State.
Pope has recorded three tackles and a pass breakup over two games. He used to play Sam linebacker, but that position was turned over into the hybrid Bullet position. That left two inside linebacker spots, which have mostly been filled by Teradja Mitchell, Cody Simon and Tommy Eichenberg thus far.
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