Buford (Ga.) High class of 2022 athlete Jake Pope is one of the hottest prospects in the Southeast, and his early junior year footage has helped boost his profile.

A month and change before his 2020 season began, he landed arguably his biggest scholarship offer when Notre Dame came calling. But even with the excitement over his Fighting Irish offer and others, Pope is taking a patient approach to his recruiting process.

“I’m trying to take it slow — day-by-day,” Pope explained. “I don’t really know much about these schools other than my communication with the coaches and the virtual tours I’m doing so far. Without the in-person visits, it’s hard to start narrowing things down.”

Pope has been in close contact with the Notre Dame staff and has hopped on Zoom calls to talk with the Irish staff. A couple weeks ago, he had a video chat with safeties coach Terry Joseph and defensive analyst Nick Lezynski to talk Notre Dame football and their families to further build their relationship.