Nakai Poole, 2023 WR, gaining momentum with productive season

Norcross (Ga.) junior wide receiver Nakai Poole entered the 2021 football season with one scholarship offer.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound pass-catcher has been offered by Florida International. Poole has caught 26 passes for 444 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games in 2021.

There has been an uptick in interest, though the offers haven’t followed yet.

“Coaches are saying they’re watching me and to keep doing what I’m doing,” Poole said.

Poole says he’s been hearing from Utah, Kentucky, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Cincinnati, Marshall, Memphis, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State among others.

Poole isn’t too focused on the offers coming in just yet. He’s at peace knowing that he has worked hard for whatever is on the horizon in his football career.

“I’m a slept-on receiver, so I feel like that I get once I do start to get them, I deserve them,” Poole said. “It’s not going to be a big shock. I feel like I’m one of the top receivers…It’s definitely a humbling feeling to be slept-on, but it’s not anything to complain about. It’s a good thing. It makes you go harder and when you get what you deserve you want more.”

Poole has been to a few games this season at neutral sites. He was in attendance when Ole Miss played Louisville in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Labor Day. Poole was also in attendance when Georgia Tech faced North Carolina in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 25.

He was in Athens to watch Georgia defeat Kentucky two weeks ago. Poole says Kentucky has reached out, but they haven’t been in constant communication.

Nakai Poole makes move into football full time

Poole is originally from New York. He moved to the Atlanta area in the eighth grade. Poole played basketball for much of his life. Football was the first sport he loved as he picked it up at a young age.

Being in Georgia has provided Poole with a unique perspective on the sport.

“The competition is definitely different,” Poole said. “I just feel like I put a lot of good film out there each week. I’m a versatile receiver. I can block, run routes and catch. I feel like that makes me stick out the most.”

Basketball has always been right there in the hunt for Poole’s attention. Poole decided to skip his sophomore year of basketball to focus on football.

“I feel like it can take me further,” Poole said.