It has been just about five weeks since the Florida Gators got good news on the recruiting trail, but head coach Will Muschamp and company were no doubt pleased to learn that four-star cornerback recruit Brian Poole (Bradenton, FL) decided to commit to the Orange and Blue on Monday.
Ranked as the No. 75 overall player in the country and No. 8 at his position, Poole at 5’11” and 187 lbs. is only the second Rivals100 player thus far to pledge for Florida. He is the second defensive back in the team’s 2012 recruiting class, joining three-star Willie Bailey (Miami, FL), who committed in early April.
“Florida has been the most loyal and best to me the whole time,” Poole told InsideTheGators.com‘s Andrew Spivey. “They also favor me the most there was no better place for me then Florida so why keep them waiting. Also my mom and dad both feel in love with the school and coaches.”
Poole told Spivey on May 26 that he has 17 offers but had a top five of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida State.
On the Gators specifically, Poole said: “I have a good relationship with the coaches there. I feel like I fit in their defensive scheme well. Also me and Coach [Travaris] Robinson have talked a lot and he is a really good guy. And Coach Muschamp has a history of producing good cornerbacks and getting them to the next level.”
The 11th commitment for Florida to date, Poole is ranked slightly lower by ESPNU, which has him as the No. 136 overall player and No. 9 cornerback in the nation. He also plays running back for Southeast High School and scored 21 touchdowns while piling on 925 yards of rushing as a junior last year.
Poole’s commitment was first reported by Scout.com but has since been confirmed by InsideTheGators.com and ESPNU.
Photo Credit: Tiffany Tompkins-Condie, Bradenton Herald
phew! I was getting a little worried there. FSU is killing the D-End’s right now. We need to close it on a few elite O-Line prospects to counter that.
No need to worry about what FSU is doing. As I said last year, they have always recruited well but nobody in Orange and Blue gave a damn as it never translated on the field. If not for a coach-less team, we might have been able to keep that trend going.
Great news!
On a side note, does anyone else get a kick out of it whenever we get a recruit out of Southeast High School? Their mascot is the Seminoles and their colors are Orange and Blue. I always laugh at that.
good to see Will getting things going again, I admit, I had a raised eyebrow when the other Stephenson HS kids were committing elsewhere, was hoping to lock that down. Welcome Brian Poole, you’re a smart man, Go Gators!
Welcome to the Gator Nation Brian! You made the right decision!
Nice pick up!
Good to hear another on board and also good to hear Matt Jones is helping pull in top recruits….that always seems to be key to a great class is a few early committments out recruiting for their school…when he gets in the open field Poole runs very smooth and fluid…he also looks like a natural punt returner as he gets north and south in a hurry
The kid is a stud, but he did have a serious broken ankle last season. Time will tell if it heals back to 100%. It’s still a huge pick up for UF.
Good news. I’m looking for a stud DE, LB, and WR.
Great job coaching staff keep it up.
Is it me or does Durkin need to step it up? Missing out on top LB recruits… Jelani Jenkins and Bostic arent developing to their high-talent potentials… What’s up with this guy?
Poole sighted Durkin’s recruiting as part of the reason he committed.