4-Star William Poole III Is Racking Up Offers, Wants to Major in Computer Tech

With Sept. 1 being the first day college coaches can reach out to rising juniors in the 2017 class, it was a pretty hectic day for 4-star corner William Poole III.

Included in the barrage of contact from colleges were offers from Big Ten powers Michigan State and Ohio State. Purdue and UCF also offered him this week, bringing his total to 33 offers.

The 6’0”, 170-pound Atlanta native admits the offer from the defending national champions was one he was looking forward to.

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Blessed to be offered by 2014 National Champions The Ohio State University! #SU pic.twitter.com/B3AGIXdujV

— William Poole III ™ (@__WP3) September 1, 2015"

“That was a highly anticipated offer,” Poole told Bleacher Report. “They came to see me back in the spring. [Cornerbacks] Coach [Kerry] Coombs came to one our practices to check me out, and he spoke with me afterward and told me that he liked me and thinks that I’d be pretty good on the next level. A couple of months later, when the rules allowed them to, they came back to offer me.”

Poole admits that he’s still not as familiar with the Buckeyes program as he’d like to be, but he expects that to change now that head coach Urban Meyer and his staff have made it known they plan to recruit him hard.

“I know they are a good program,” Poole said. “Speaking with Coach Coombs and the rest of the staff up there, I know I have a good relationship with them. It’s only going to get stronger. With that said, I’m still learning about Ohio State. I’ve never been up there. But now that they’ve offered, I can begin to learn more and get that process moving with them.” 

The offer from the Spartans also caught his attention due to the program’s reputation of producing elite players on defense.

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Blessed to receive an offer from The Michigan State Spartans ✳️✳️✳️ pic.twitter.com/siKH8laT4n

— William Poole III ™ (@__WP3) September 1, 2015"

“[Michigan State has] a good tradition with producing defensive backs,” Poole said. “Maybe I could be on that train one day, you never know. I’m not very familiar with their coaching staff. I’ve only talked with their defensive backs coach [Harlon Barnett], but I do want to grow that bond with all of their staff, including the defensive coordinator. Maybe next summer, I can take a visit up there to check them out and see what they have to offer.

With his ever-expanding offer list seemingly growing by the day, Poole insists he’s in no rush to name any leaders. However, there are a few programs that he communicates with frequently.

Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia Tech make up the early group of schools he’s developed strong relationships with at this stage.

He also notes that he hopes to hear more from SEC powers Tennessee and Texas A&M—both of whom have already offered him. Of schools that have yet to offer, Oklahoma and USC are two programs he hopes to see officially jump into the picture.

Still, he admits that he’s already thought of a timeline for how his recruitment will play out.

“I sat down with my parents about that recently,” he said. “After my junior season is over, I want to start trimming my list down to a Top 10. I will take some visits in the spring and summer. Before my senior year begins, I want to cut it down to a Top 5. Those would be the only five schools that I would then focus on. Whenever the time is right after that point, I will commit.”

Poole reports a 3.0 GPA with tentative plans to major in a field related to computer technology.

As for his criteria in eventually picking a school, Poole is looking for a good fit on and off the field and somewhere not too far away from the metro Atlanta area. 

“I just want to go somewhere where I feel most comfortable at,” Poole said. “I want to find a program where I fit in with what they are doing on defense. The relationship with coaches is also important. Right now, I prefer to be closer to home because I’d want my family to be able to come and see me play.”

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani