OSU LB K’Vaughan Pope Leaves Sideline During Akron Game After Exchanges With Coaches

Ohio State linebacker K’Vaughan Pope left the sidelines in the second half of Saturday's game against Akron. 

Per Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch, a Buckeyes official escorted Pope to the locker room after he got into a heated discussion with a coach on the sidelines. Bill Landis of The Athletic reported Pope had exchanges with both head coach Ryan Day and linebackers coach Al Washington.

According to Kaufman, the Big Ten Network reported Pope was unhappy when he wasn't substituted into the game for a defensive series. 

Per Landis, Pope tweeted and deleted "fucc Ohio State" after going to the locker room.

Though he deleted the original tweet, Pope posted another message to offer support to his teammates:

Austin Ward of Lettermen Row tweeted about the incident, while adding that Pope appears to have quit the football team:

After the Buckeyes finished their 59-7 victory, Day told reporters he was "going to get the details before I say anything." Per Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus DIspatch, Day doesn't believe the Pope situation is a sign of a larger problem within the program:

A senior linebacker, Pope is in his fourth season at Ohio State. The Virginia native appeared in 11 games during his college career prior to Saturday night. He has been used primarily as a role player, recording 19 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. 

Pope was a member of Ohio State's 2018 recruiting class that was ranked second in the nation by 247Sports' composite rankings. He was a 4-star recruit coming out of Dinwiddie County High School in Virginia. 

Tommy Eichenberg has been the Buckeyes' starting "Mike" linebacker so far this season. Pope has been used as the primary backup through the first three games. 

Losing Pope for Saturday's game against Akron didn't have an impact on Ohio State. The Buckeyes held a 52-7 lead in the fourth quarter. 

It's unclear at this point if Pope has quit the team or if he briefly lost his cool in the heat of the moment and will be back with the Buckeyes for their next game against Rutgers on Oct. 2.