His emotions without question got the better of him his Jr season — & it no question affected his game.

He still struggled mightily with his emotions at the start of his Sr year & some of us remember the end of the tight game Pope pulled him in favor of Troy — mostly cuz he was getting burned on defense. And he was obviously really upset long before he got pulled — like we'd come to expect of him in matchups where he was clearly struggling.

Yet Pope stuck with him not only as the starter after that game (obvious choice), but also as the team leader. And it wasn't long after that his game (particularly his D) not only showed marked improvement, but the emotions were hardly ever a noticeable issue the rest of the way.

From where I was sitting, it looked like he was enjoying the game for the first time in a couple years, at least.