Florida native Jake Pope (67) loves nearly everything about Illinois State University – except the weather. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
Jake Pope is admittedly an extrovert.
Except when he wasn’t.
“I’m truthfully not afraid to speak about these kinds of things,” the Illinois State offensive lineman told Prairie State Pigskin. “When I first came to Illinois State, it was after a significant injury (to my pectoral muscle) from when I was at (the University of) Kentucky. I went through a really bad spot emotionally. I wasn’t really talking to anybody. I wasn’t doing anything.”
Things got worse for the transfer just four games into the 2022 season — his first — at ISU.
“I, unfortunately, did the same thing again. I tore my left pec,” he said.
It was then that Pope, a Plantation, Fla. native, saw a side of Illinois State head coach Brock Spack that the public doesn’t see.
“He pulled me aside after my surgery and said, ‘I want you in my office once a week. Not for any reason other than just to talk.’ He would not let me go down that same path that I had gone before,” the player said.
Spack said, “I talked to him a lot about coming back from injury and dealing with disappointment. You have to set your jaw and come back and be better than you were last time.”
Pope rehabilitated to make all 11 starts at right tackle for the Redbirds last season.
“He’s done a good job with that,” Spack said.
Now, in his senior year, Pope has remained a mainstay in the ISU lineup.
He, however, will never forget what his head coach did for him during his darkest moments.
“It means something to me that words cannot describe,” Pope said. “I’m a very outgoing, talkative person. Going through what I went through, and then having Coach Spack be there for me right off the bat saying, ‘I just want to talk to you. It doesn’t matter what it’s about. We just need to talk.’ That really kept me on the right path through my recovery.”
A recovery that has returned the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Pope to not only a difference maker on the field but also as the sociable person he’s been most of his life.
“He’s a good guy,” Spack said. “He’s got a really good personality. He’s a very gregarious guy. He’s funny.”
Get to know Illinois State right tackle Jake Pope in our Moving the Chains Q&A.
Is it true that you didn’t start playing football until your freshman year of high school?
I tried it out when I was younger, but didn’t really have a passion for it. It was never like I had a giant growth spurt. I was always just bigger and off the (medical) charts.
My first sport was baseball. When I got to St. Thomas (Aquinas High School), I was just going to play baseball. But then the athletic director, George Smith, called me and said, ‘Yeah, there’s absolutely no way you’re not playing football.’ He made me go out for the freshman team. Then, he made me do wrestling on top of that. So, for my first two years I was doing three sports.
When I got settled in with football and offers started rolling my way junior year, I gave up baseball. I wrestled through my senior year.
What position(s) did you play in baseball?
I was a first baseman and pitcher. I was a lefty.
What was your out-pitch?
I threw a good fastball. My sophomore year in high school, I was throwing 85 miles an hour. I also liked the knuckle-curve. That had been my pitch since I was like 13 years old. It was always a good pitch for me.
What was your favorite sport to watch growing up?
Football, without a doubt. Baseball was more just fun for me to play. I enjoyed it and was good at it, but with football I enjoyed the dynamic of everything. I liked seeing how everything worked. I liked seeing different plays and motions and movements and how it affected the outcomes. I was always fascinated by it.
Growing up in Florida, what team was your favorite?
It was a hard being a (Miami) Dolphins fan for a few of those years.
It’s still hard, isn’t it?
I wouldn’t go that far! We’ve had some light in the recent past. I remember being around seven or eight years ago watching on TV. The Dolphins were 0-15 and won the last game of the season.
What do you miss most about Florida?
The warmth. Not even a question, the warmth. Being up here with 40 mile-an-hour winds and it’s zero degrees, that’s where you lose me.
What hobbies did you have growing up?
Fishing and hunting. I’ve been doing those ever since I was a little kid. My dad got a 28 ½-foot Whitewater boat six weeks after I was born. We’d go fishing on the weekends.
Spearfishing was really my thing. Take a deep breath in at the top, swim down, shoot something, come back up and you’ve got dinner.
You began your career at the University of Kentucky. What is it that people may not understand about the SEC?
The SEC is different. The thing that Coach Spack says is that the Missouri Valley is the SEC of FCS. He’s completely right. I see the same kind of fan base resonate here.
Then, just before dinnertime when the sun is going down, my older cousin and I always walk across the street to the lake and we throw some cast in for largemouth bass.
The SEC is a different breed of football. It’s a different breed of fans. It’s something else. I was lucky to be a part of it for awhile.
When you decided to leave Kentucky, how did Illinois State stand out and become your transfer choice?
Truthfully, Coach Spack is friends with my AD from high school. So when I hit the (transfer) portal, they mutually talked and got me in contact (with the ISU staff). Two of my teammates from high school actually play at ISU with me.
I liked the area when I took a visit here. I haven’t looked back.
What’s it like for your family with you playing so far away?
It’s kind of a predicament getting from south Florida to here for every game. I do not hold them to that at all. Any game that they can get up here for, I’m very grateful because I know it’s an investment to do that.
They watch ESPN (Plus) for most of the games. The ones that are really important and the ones that I want them to come to, they’re more than happy to get up here.
As an offensive lineman, do you prefer to pass block or run block?
I prefer whatever play my coach calls.
Sure, but what do you get more satisfaction out of, keeping the quarterback clean in the pocket or knocking a defender on his behind with a strong run block?
I will say there is nothing better than run blocking and seeing out of your peripheral vision as your running back hits the hole and goes untouched. That’s probably the best feeling for me in the game.
Do you feel that right tackle is your natural position?
I grew up playing left tackle. I find that to be easier for me since I’m left-handed; it’s more natural over there. But over the last few years I had to play right tackle at Kentucky as well as here.
When you get to the college level, you can’t be honed down to one position. You’ve got to adapt to whatever spot needs to be filled. When I first came to Illinois State, it was the right tackle position. That’s what I’ve stuck with since I’ve been here.
What’s something you’ve learned from offensive line coach Harold Etheridge since you’ve been at ISU?
The thing I’ve learned is that it doesn’t end here. We’ve got to be men and take control of our own lives. You’ve got to take things head on and deal with adversity with a chip on your shoulder and always come out as the person on top no matter what it is.
A month ago, we featured ISU receiver Xavier Loyd in this Q&A. We asked him to name a starting basketball five from the football team. You’re 6-foot-7 and he didn’t pick you. How do you feel about that?
I’m terrible at basketball. I don’t blame him at all. There’s no bad blood. It’s a business decision. You’ve got to put the best five on the court, and I do not fit that criteria. I miss layups.
Thanksgiving is coming up. What did the table look like when you were growing up?
Thanksgiving at the Pope house is something else. My grandma is on turkey duty. That’s her thing along with the mashed potatoes. My dad is on noodle duty. He makes his homemade and turns them into a thick soup kind of thing. My mom does cranberry sauce. Desserts are a smorgasbord. Everybody brings something.
We’re playing cornhole in the yard. Yes, it’s cornhole. It’s not bags. It’s cornhole.
It’s the best day.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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