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K'Vaughan Pope sends string of tweets following locker room exit

Nakos updated headshotby:Pete Nakos•09/25/21•

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KVaughan Pope Ohio State by Birm-Lettermen Row
Ohio State linebacker K'Vaughan Pope left the sideline in the second quarter. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

Ohio State linebacker K’Vaughan Pope was escorted to the locker room in the second quarter of Saturday night’s game vs. Akron after a sideline outburst. Back on the locker room and on his phone, the senior linebacker took to Twitter to share his immediate reaction.

“Fucc Ohio State,” he wrote on Twitter and later deleted. “Good lucc to my teammates.”

Per Lettermen Row‘s Austin Ward, the senior was trying to run out on the field in a substitution package when he was waved off by teammate Teradja Mitchell. Once getting back to the sideline, a visibly upset Pope started walking down the sideline by himself and was heading back to the locker room on his own.

Eventually corralled by Buckeyes staffer C.J. Barnett in the south end zone, Pope was guided back to the sideline. Once there, however, Pope took off his gloves and threw them into the stands and began removing his Ohio State jersey — which apparently caught the attention of coach Ryan Day. After another conversation with multiple staffers, Pope was then led to the locker room while the game was ongoing.

Pope has showed his not-so-subtle displeasure on playing time on social media before. He has played in 33 games with the Buckeyes, but he has never carved out a starting role on the unit. He did flash a couple years ago with a pair of interceptions, showing the athleticism that made him a four-star prospect in the class of 2018.

Ohio State’s linebacker unit is already short on depth. Earlier this week Dallas Gant entered the transfer portal. The Buckeyes lost Tuf Borland, Pete Werner, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard after last season, leaving huge gaps in the middle of their defense. The gaps have not been filled either, and losing Pope does no help.

Ryan Day will not condone K’Vaughan Pope’s actions on the field or on Twitter. Some thought he would enter the transfer portal after the spring or even this fall, but he chose not to. And while the linebacker has not been formally removed from the team yet, it is just a matter of time.