Less than six months after arriving in Starkville, Deion Pope has apparently given in to homesickness.

Rated as the No. 1 junior college defensive tackle out of Copiah-Lincoln Community College during the 2017 recruiting cycle by 247Sports Composite Ratings, Pope enrolled early in January for spring football in Starkville. However, before even making it to fall camp, Pope has announced his decision to leave the program. Pope says he will continue his football career at Jackson State University.

Pope announced the news Wednesday on Twitter, citing his desire to be closer to home:


It should be noted that Pope was recruited by former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon, not current DC Todd Grantham. MSU signed nine former junior college players this offseason in hopes of turning around its struggling defense and offensive line in a hurry. Now it appears that number has quickly shrunk to down to eight.

Despite this loss, Mississippi State’s defense will still be aided by the addition of seven defensive line signees from the 2017 recruiting class.