Geoffrey Glenn Pope (born June 21, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

. Pope has also played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He earned a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

with the Giants in

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

over the heavily favored

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early years

Pope attended the

University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, the sc ...

where he was a track and football standout. He ran the 100m dash in 10.38 seconds, which is the high school and meet record.

College career

Eastern Michigan

Pope originally attended

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

, where he appeared in 25 games and racked up 24 tackles and two pass breakups from 2002 to 2004. Pope red-shirted his freshman year. In 2003, he clocked 4.35 seconds in the 40 yard dash during underclassman testing. Pope also ran indoor track in the offseason and placed 3rd in the 60 meter dash (6.87 seconds) at the 2004 MAC Indoor Championships. Shortly after finishing all conference at the 2004 indoor championships, Pope ran the 40 yard dash in 4.29 seconds for underclassman testing. He unfortunately tore his quadriceps in off-season workouts that spring and clashed with coaches about his rehab program and treatment. Pope missed half the 2004 season due to his injury. In 2005, Pope was 100% healthy and ran the 40m dash in 4.20 seconds on junior day. He decided not to run track and focus solely on football. Despite being healthy, Pope was the last corner on the depth chart in 2005 during spring practices. Pope decided to transfer that summer.

Howard

In 2005, Pope transferred to

. He played 22 games over two seasons for the Bison, totaling 76 tackles, seven pass breakups and four interceptions. He broke his foot in training camp and broke his hand mid-season; however, he did not miss a game his senior season. Pope earned all conference honors as a Bison.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pope ran a 4.25 40-yard dash at his Pro Day prior to the 2007 NFL Draft.

Miami Dolphins

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2007 NFL Draft, Pope signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

contract with the

. On the Dolphins' first official depth chart of training camp, released August 6, Pope was listed as the seventh and final cornerback. In the team's first preseason game against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

on August 11, Pope registered two tackles while playing primarily on special teams and on defense in the second half. Pope made it through the first round of cuts but was released by the team on September 1 as the roster was trimmed to 53 for the regular season. The following day, the

signed Pope to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

New York Giants

Pope spent the entire 2007 regular season on the Giants' practice squad. With cornerback

Sam Madison Samuel Adolphus Madison, Jr. (born April 23, 1974) is an American football coach and former cornerback. He is the cornerbacks coach and pass game specialist for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as th ...

injured, the Giants activated Pope from the practice squad on December 31. He replaced safety

Craig Dahl Craig Dahl (born June 17, 1985) is a former American football safety who played nine seasons in the National Football League. He was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at North Dakota State. He ...

on the roster. Pope was inactive for the team's Wild Card contest, but made his NFL debut on January 13 in the team's divisional round matchup against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He saw extensive playing time on defensive and special teams, recording one tackle in the contest. On January 20, Pope participated in the NFC Championship game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...

and recorded one tackle. Pope was released by the Giants during final cuts on August 30, 2008. The next day he was signed to the teams' practice squad, only to be released the following day on September 1.

Cincinnati Bengals

The same day he was released from the Giants' practice squad, Pope was signed to the

' practice squad on September 1, 2008. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16 and played in 8 games that season. Pope played in 4 games in 2009, but was waived by the Bengals on September 23 after the team signed

Jamar Fletcher Jamar Mondell Israel (born August 28, 1979), born Jamar Mondell Fletcher, is an American former college and professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons in the early 2000s. He played ...

. He was re-signed to the practice squad the following day. Pope was released from the Bengals on October 8, 2009 and re-signed to the practice squad on October 9.

Philadelphia Eagles

Pope was signed off the Bengals practice squad on November 24 by the

. He was waived on September 3, 2010.

References

External links

*
Howard Bison bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Geoff 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Detroit American football cornerbacks Eastern Michigan Eagles football players Howard Bison football players Miami Dolphins players New York Giants players Cincinnati Bengals players Philadelphia Eagles players University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy alumni