Coach | 2022 Notre Dame S Target Jake Pope Has "Unreal" Set Of Skills

The mutual interest between Notre Dame and Jake Pope‍ comes as no surprise to Fyrone Davis.

The assistant coach at Buford High School has long recognized the skills Pope, a top 2022 Georgia safety prospect, possesses as elite.

“His size and the physicality have made him the player he is today based on pure speed,” says Davis. “There aren't too many guys at that position who can run like that at that size. That's what makes him really special; his ball skills are elite and his physicality is really good and you mix that with his natural speed, I think it's unreal.”

Davis says the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder is “put together really good.”

Pope also checks the boxes off the field, according to his coach.

“He's great,” says Davis. “He's a leader. Kids follow his work ethic and what he does in the weight room and the locker room. He's one of the favorite kids in the program.”

Buford puts out multiple Division-I prospects each year, but Davis says this upcoming senior class is “different.”

“They're really competitive,” he says. “They're competitive on the field, off the field, in the classroom. They're all driven for success.

“It's different based on who they are and how they operate and he's a big part of it.”

Davis’ tremendous respect for Notre Dame stretches back even beyond the time he’s watched Pope as a player.

“Notre Dame is a phenomenal academic school,” he says. “To me, that makes them number one by far. Then, you go look at their rich tradition that's come through Notre Dame with elite players and the kid from here who is there now, Kyle Hamilton.

“You start looking at all of that and that matters. You can go in there and play and have an opportunity to be very successful and see yourself in the same boat as that young man.”

The potential match was obvious to Davis as soon as the Irish offered, almost a year ago now.

“Talking to him when Notre Dame first offered, it was all about academics,” says Davis. “From the jump, he was interested in Notre Dame because he knew what Notre Dame could do for him academically.

“Then you start looking at playing time, who's there, what does it look like in a year or two for me?”

Pope just took an official visit to North Carolina and will be in South Bend for an official visit this weekend. The following two weekends, he’ll take officials to Ohio State and Alabama, respectively.

“I think what is going to separate with all of this new stuff going on is the branding, the exposure. I think that's what is going to separate it for a lot of athletes and especially a kid like Jake Pope.

“'Hey, this is what it looks like for me, and this is where I'm going because I feel like I'm going to get this, this and this. I'm going to work for it. You're not going to give me anything, I'm going to work for it all.'”