He had ok, but improving numbers. He had too many drops but was playing better. Go up and down most rosters and his numbers are what a second leading receiver has in college football. Could have been better if he had better hands.
Shrug. No one is calling him an All American.
Are you suggesting his numbers were still "improving" after the NC State game? Doesn't that ignore the fact Duke and UNC, games that happened after NC State, were two of his worst 5 performances of the season?
And lol @ anyone, anywhere arguing over whether Pope is an All American. That's about the craziest straw man ever constructed around these parts. If that was the argument, I might ask
@RVACane to get your IP address out to the authorities to find you for a mental health examination under the Baker Act. Nobody is calling him an All American. Nobody is calling him All ACC. Nobody is calling him a draftable WR next draft. Most people aren't even calling him a "good WR" (though you are getting danger close with your "he was playing good stretch of football for us" comment). The "debate" is whether Pope even deserves to be a top 3 WR on this team next season (which, to be clear, the answer is no. Wiggins is worse, but Pope doesn't deserve it either).
As far as your completely unsupported, throw-away statement about what a 2nd leading WR is doing (numbers-wise) in college, below I post Pope's stats against the No. 2 leading WR in each ACC team (along with how many games they played). Clemson, NC State, UNC, UL, and Pitt's No. 2 WRs all blow Pope's season out of the water. When you consider VT's No. 2 WR wins every statistical category in 1 fewer game, I think that's a clear win for VT's No. 2 WR. Similar story with Wake's No. 2 WR, and to a lesser extent UVA's No. 2 WR. Even GT's No. 2 WR's stats are essentially a wash with Pope if extrapolated over 11 games (though he'd whip Pope in TDs and have more yards). The only No. 2 WRs in the ACC Pope is arguably ahead of based on last season's numbers are Syracuse and Duke's. And we already know Pope and Wiggins were the two worst WRs in the ACC for drop rate last season, giving Pope the worst drop rate of any of these WRs. End of the day, he was statistically among the worst No. 2 WRs in the ACC last season (easily bottom third, likely worse).
Here's Pope again (in 11 games):
Louisville's 2nd leading WR (going by yards, this is Atwell in 9 games... Fitzpatrick's numbers are about double Pope's yards and more catches and TDs, too):
UVA's 2nd WR (still going by yards... in 10 games):
VT's 2nd WR (in 10 games):
GT's 2nd WR (in 7 games):
Duke's 2nd WR (in 11 games):
BC's 2nd WR (in 10 games):
NC State's 2nd WR (in 11 games):
Clemson's 2nd WR (in 11 games):
UNC's 2nd WR (in 12 games):
FSU's 2nd WR (Terry... keeping in mind FSU only played 9 games, but Terry only played 5 games):
Syracuse's 2nd WR (in 11 games):
Wake Forest's 2nd WR (in 8 games):
ND's 2nd WR (in 9 games):
Pitt's 2nd WR (in 11 games):