Spring games are supposed to be fun, casual and light on contact. Apparently, nobody told Alabama safety Jake Pope.
The annual exhibition games across college football rarely show hard—especially brutal—hits, but the Crimson Tide defensive back just couldn’t help himself when a pass was about to be made in his vicinity.
Wide receiver Jermaine Burton couldn’t haul in a pass on the right sideline with the ball bouncing off his fingertips. While he was trying to recover the ball during the play, Pope came out of nowhere and absolutely leveled him, sending him out of bounds.
Pope followed the monster hit with some warranted flexing.
Its only a spring game Jake! 😳🔨
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) April 23, 2023
Jake Pope with a massive hit on Jermaine Burton at A-Day #Alabama #Football #Bama #RTR #RollTide #CFB pic.twitter.com/auRvMlBzYf
Pope is a redshirt freshman who didn’t see any action in 2022, but if he keeps making plays like this, Nick Saban will have to give the young safety some more snaps.
Alabama starts its season Sept. 2 at Middle Tennessee.
