K’Vaughn Pope is an Ohio State linebacker — check that — WAS an Ohio State linebacker. Disgruntled at being subbed out in last Saturday’s Akron, Pope stormed off the field, ripped off his uniform and later tweeted “F*ck Ohio State” He has been dismissed from the team.
Others have dismissed themselves. Utah embraced Charlie Brewer. Brewer gave up on his chance to start games at Baylor for a 5th straight year. Brewer expressed a desire to go to a winning program. This felt like a slap in the face to a program that believed in Brewer. Brewer, who prepped at Austin’s Lake Travis, always wanted to follow in the footsteps of numerous family members who had been Longhorn QB’s. His dad, Robert, was the MVP of the 1982 Cotton Bowl. Baylor offered Charlie. The Longhorns did not. Brewer was having a tough day against San Diego State and was benched in the third quarter. Less than 48 hours after his benching, Brewer said goodbye to the Utes. Possibly Brewer thought he was being loyal to the Utes — after all, he could have called for an uber to LAX at the end of the 3rd quarter of the San Diego State game. Meanwhile, Baylor upset Iowa State last Saturday to start 2021 with a 4-0 bang.
Bailey Hockman was also benched two Saturdays ago during Middle Tennessee’s game at Texas San Antonio. Less than 48 hours later, he announced his retirement from football for family reasons. Was there a family emergency on the Sunday after his benching? Perhaps nobody should be surprised that Hockman continued to be a rolling stone. He had previously been at Florida State and North Carolina State. Thankfully, for Middle Tennessee, the Blue Raiders finally found the right QB to lead their team, Chase Cunningham. Cunningham has had his disappointments the previous 2 years but he stayed the course. The Odyssey was in attendance last Friday night in Charlotte as Cunningham threw for 389 yards in an excellent effort for the Blue Raiders.
Like Cunningham, another QB showed that perseverance can pay off after being benched. Jeff Sims had given way to Jordan Yates at the Georgia Tech QB. Sims came off the bench and was stellar in the Yellow Jackets’ 45-22 upset of North Carolina last weekend. We salute the perseverance of both Cunningham and Sims!
As for folks like Brewer, Pope and Hockman, the Odyssey says “good riddance.” Even as crazy as the antics of Georgia Southern lineman Gavin Adcock were last Saturday (chugging beer on top of a moving bus in pre-game!!!), we know that we would even prefer the Gavin Adcocks of the world to ungrateful quitters if forced to choose.