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The official roster at gousfbulls.com has been updated! The incoming freshmen have been added, and some jersey numbers have changed. Today's player was originally listed as #19, and wore that number in the spring game, but is now listed as #11. (Oregon transfer Eric Dungy, son of Tony, is now #19.) Rather than re-order everyone, we'll go ahead and introduce the former #19 now:
#11 TE Marlon Pope
Junior, 6'4", 255 lbs.
Stats in 2013: Playing for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he had 6 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Spot on Pre-Season Depth Chart: Not listed.
How did he come to USF: Signed with the 2014 class as a junior college transfer. Enrolled early and played in this year's spring game, where he had one catch for eight yards.
Recruiting Rankings: Pope was lightly recruited out of high school; his only offer was from I-AA Northwestern State. He joined the strong football program at MGCCC, and caught the attention of Willie Taggart. 247sports rated him two stars coming out of high school, and three stars coming out of JC.
Projected Playing Time in 2014: Pope is a very good run-blocker, and will be deployed in that capacity. But he's not a glorified lineman: he has good hands, and some passes will be thrown his way.
Fun Fact: Pope is USF football's first player from Mississippi. In fact, only 14 different states have had a high school athlete play football for USF: Florida, Georgia (16 players all-time), New Jersey (6), Alabama (4), California (3), Louisiana (2), Ohio (2), Texas (2), New York (1), Virginia (1), Arizona (1), Illinois (1), North Carolina (1), and Kansas (1). Also, former USF/Detroit Lions offensive lineman Frank Davis grew up in the nation of Panama.