William Poole III might one day be an answer to a little-known UGA trivia question.
He might even be more than that if Kirby Smart‘s first on-the-road visit as UGA’s full-fledged head coach pays off. Smart chose to make the junior cornerback from Hapeville Charter his first visit on Thursday morning once the dead period lifted.
It was a doozy.
Poole is rated as a 4-star cornerback by the 247sports composite. But he’s regarded as a 5-star cornerback and as the nation’s No. 3 cornerback by Rivals.
It appears he’s held in even higher esteem than that by Smart. Poole said Smart told him he wanted to make him his first visit on the road as nothing but the head coach at UGA.
What did Smart say?
“Just to come up and visit kind of privately,” Poole III told DawgNation. “Not with so much other recruits around. So I can sit down with him and (defensive coordinator Mel Tucker) and so we can watch film and they can really break down how they want to use me in their defense.”
It turned out to be a well-calculated visit. While Poole named UGA, Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Florida State as his Top 5 schools on Christmas Eve, he told DawgNation.com he’s really down to just two schools at this time.
It boils down to Georgia and Florida. Poole said he will be committed to one of those two schools before this summer.
Poole said Smart clearly let him know where he stands with UGA.
“What he showed me was that he really wanted me at UGA and I was his first visit on the road,” he said. “I was the No. 1 DB on his board and a major priority.”
Wait, there’s more.
“He wants to create a dynasty and that I can come in and play Day 1,” Poole told DawgNation.
The 6-foot, 176-pounder said he still feels the same about UGA after the visit. He’s now set his mind on figuring out his where he wants to play at the next level. He’ll visit UGA and Florida this winter and collect the data he needs to make his decision.
Unless otherwise indicated, all player rankings and ratings are from the 247sports Composite.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.