Just eight days ago, Rivals100 defensive back William Poole planned to announce his decision at The Opening this summer or the Under Armour All-American Game in January. Those plans were altered significantly when the Hapeville Charter standout elected to announce his commitment to the University of Georgia this afternoon.
“It really did throw everyone for a loop, but I just stuck to my heart for where I really wanted to be at the end of the day,” said Poole, who picked the Bulldogs over Florida. “Instead of waiting that long to put it out there, I would just rather get it over with now.”
While Poole made his commitment public prior to the Bulldogs spring game, the four-star cornerback had actually committed to Kirby Smart a few months ago.
“I had silently committed to Kirby a while back. That was before I put a hold on everything so this is committing to him the second time actually,” Poole explained. “He had told me that I could make it public whenever I wanted to. I just told him I wanted to keep it quiet for a while. He was very excited about it. He said he could not wait for me to get out there and start recruiting guys now.”
With the Bulldogs staff hyping up the spring game with the likes of “93K” and having Ludacris performing beforehand, Poole’s announcement was not a predetermined event to build more energy around the stadium.
“No, not really. He had not been talking to me about committing on G-Day,” Poole replied. “We have a group chat with all the recruits in it, and nobody else has said anything about hearing from him about committing on G-Day, so all I know is that I am the only one right now.”
In that group chat is a couple of Bulldogs commits, along with several top ranked targets around the southeast.
“It is me, Richard LeCounte, Jaden Hunter, A.J. Terrell, JaCoby Stevens, Nate McBride, Tray Bishop, Cam Akers, Malik Herring, and Netori Johnson,” Poole answered. “Just a lot of guys.”
A visit to Florida caused the nation’s No. 36 ranked prospect to delay going public with his decision, but at the end of the day, staying home was the key.
“The family support. Every Saturday in Athens I know I will have my family there for me. At Florida, I know it would be occasionally, but here, it will be all the time,” Poole said. “I mean, it is right down the road, and I know if I ever need something, need help, or get home sick, I can come home or they can come to me. Coach [Mel] Tucker, he is an NFL guy with great experience, and he knows how to develop his players. When I went to go check out their practice I saw a big difference between last year and this year so I want to be a part of that.”
Being coached by the duo of Smart and Tucker also played into the decision.
“Just the development. I know Coach Smart, and just by watching him at practice at Alabama and Georgia, I definitely see how they can improve their guys and get them to a top level,” Poole explained. “I know I am far from how good I can be, and I know they can help me get even higher in next three years.”
The 6-foot-1, 175 pound prospect plans to be the recruiter and not the recruited from here on out.
“I am going to stay committed to Georgia because I know that’s where I want to be. I am just going to completely shut everything down,” Poole replied. “I know coaches are going to still be coming after me and stuff, but I am just going to try to cut everything down, take everything to a minimum, and just be focused on Georgia helping them recruiting the 2017 guys. I know my number one target is Jamyest Williams. My other three targets are Nate McBride, Trey Blount, and Malik Herring.”
Poole has lofty goals for both his team and himself during his freshman season in Athens.
“Freshman year, yeah, we are trying to bring a National Championship home, like [Jalen] Ramsey did at Florida State his freshman year. I am trying to do that my freshman year,” Poole said. “I want to be a first team All-SEC, freshman All-American. Also, I want lead my team to a SEC Championship, win that, and, hopefully, contend for a National Championship.”
With a commitment in the books, Poole has a message to the Bulldog Nation.
“Just Go Dawgs and I am loyal to my home. Just Go Dawgs, that’s it,” Poole concluded.
