Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Mark Pope is ready to turn his five-star potential as a recruit into an on-field reality in his junior season.
Going for 18 receptions, 266 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore after barely playing his freshman year, Pope figures to be thrust into a bigger role in a receiving corps that lost K.J. Osborn and Jeff Thomas. He has impressed during fall camp.
"Mark's been one of our guys that has gotten steadily better as camp has gone on," said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee on Monday. "I think he's always known he's got ability, but he feels really confident, I think, in what we're asking him to do."
Pope is on his third different offensive coordinator at UM. The thought for Lashlee is that his fast-paced attack will benefit Pope and the rest of the receivers. Pass catchers are spending less time thinking, more time moving and knowing where they need to be from repetition in practice.
"We're putting him in a position to be successful by doing the same stuff over and over again," Lashlee said. "I think success breeds confidence. Repetition is the mother of all learning. He does things over and over again, he continues to gain confidence. When you're a confident player, you're going to play better.
"When guys are hesitant, when guys are unsure of what to do, overloaded with what's going on, they just seem to play slower. Without the ball, getting off coverage press, running routes, there's a hesitation there, and it's hard to play to your best when you're hesitant and not confident."
Fellow junior wideout Dee Wiggins, who goes back to playing youth football with Pope and was high school teammates with him at Miami Southridge, sees the increased confidence in Pope.
"Confidence takes you a long way," Wiggins said, "and once you have confidence, you know what you're doing and you play fast. When you play fast, you're very accurate in what you do."
Pope said one of the key aspects to his game he wants to perfect is his route-running, and he wants to get it to the level of another South Florida standout, Deerfield Beach's Jerry Jeudy, who is now an NFL rookie after getting drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round in April.
"My route-running, it's there," Pope said. "I just try to get it like Jeudy, like Jerry Jeudy. Everything else is there. Just feeling confident and ready to play football."
There's that confidence Lashlee was talking about.
"This offense has been much easier for us to catch on and just go out there and practice and play," Pope said.
