It’s not that Austin Pope doesn’t provide a good amount of value upon his return. Tennessee football clearly missed him this past year, as he was the Vols’ best blocking tight end in 2019 and will be in 2021. However, his reasoning for returning could be concerning.
The 6’4″ 235-pound local senior, who missed all of 2020 due to recovering from back surgery, withdrew from the transfer portal, according to Austin Price of VolQuest. Pope initially announced his decision to enter the portal back on Dec. 21 on Twitter.
Beyond just returning, Jimmy Hyams of of WNML later reported that Pope spoke with Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt Sunday morning. Apparently, he wants to be more involved in the passing game. Hyams revealed the news on Twitter.
After weeks of deliberation, Tennessee TE Austin Pope, who entered the transfer portal, told me has decided to stay at UT. He spoke with coach Jeremy Pruitt this morning and Pruitt welcomed him back. Pope is a top-notch blocker who wants to be more involved in the passing game
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) January 17, 2021
Here is where the problem lies. For as great of a blocker as Pope is, he’s an unproven receiving tight end. In 2019, he played second fiddle to Dominick Wood-Anderson in that role, and there was clearly an effort to find a new replacement in 2020.
Pope only has seven receptions for 85 yards in his entire college career with no touchdowns. His longest catch was a 55-yard reception in 2018 against the Florida Gators on a great 4th and 1 play-action pass, but he managed to fumble the ball away into the end zone on that play. In 2019, he only had four receptions for 21 yards.
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Simply put, there is no reason to believe Pope can be an elite tight end in the passing game. What makes this even more difficult for Tennessee football is the fact that they may have found some other, better options in that role.
Princeton Fant, who converted to tight end in 2019 and became an unexpected starter this past year in Pope’s absence, emerged down the stretch. The 6’2″ 240-pound former running back out of Nashville had 11 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown in 2020. Nine of those catches, his only touchdown and 75 of those yards came in the Vols’ final four games.
Beyond Fant, though, Jacob Warren had six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. The 6’6″ 248-pound local redshirt sophomore had four of his catches, his only touchdown and 61 of his yards against the Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies, two of the Vols’ final four games.
Simply put, in the final four games last season, each of those players nearly surpassed Pope’s production for his entire career in the passing game, and they both have a promising future. There’s a reason Jordan Allen transferred. When you factor in Sean Brown and the arrival of Trinity Bell, it’s hard to see where Pope fits in with becoming featured in the passing game.
Jim Chaney has shown a willingness to use multiple tight ends in the passing game at previous stops, and assuming he stays around, it’s possible he does the same in 2021. However, even if he does, Pope’s not likely to be either one of them.
That’s not to say Tennessee football couldn’t use Pope. There was plenty of evidence that the Vols missed his presence when it came to blocking in 2020, particularly pass protection on the outside. However, his return combined with what’s reported about demands could create a major problem.