William Poole shares message with Georgia fans on social media
Kirby Smart announced on Monday that Georgia defensive back William Poole would no longer be with the team for the remainder of the 2022 season, citing ‘personal reasons.’ Later in the day, Poole posted a message to Bulldog fans on his social media, sharing his parting thoughts.
“Dawg Nation, I am thankful for the opportunity I was presented as a young kid out of Atlanta to have the honor of dawning the Red and Black for my home state for the past 6 years. Due to personal reasons, I have decided to forego my last season at the University of Georgia,” Poole wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “Looking back, my time at the university has been the best transitional period of my life thus far from a standpoint of developing the intangibles and characters that I can further carry on throughout life as I depart from the University. As I exit, I am able to carry along with me my first priority academically which was obtaining a Bachelors Degree in my pursued major of Communication Studies. Furthermore, athletically, I carry along the honor of being apart of an SEC, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and ultimately I am a 2021 CFP National Champion.”
“I want to give a huge thanks to every staff member, coaches, trainers, nutritionist, etc. who played a role in my journey and took care of me as their own,” he continued. “Most importantly, a thank you to Coach Smart as he has done a great job of being a representative of a coach who is demanding yet always supportive of the best interest and development of his players not only as players, but men as well. To my past and current teammates, I’ll miss every memory that we created within the grind of doing what we all love to do, the relationships and experiences I created here are those that I will remember and cherish forever and I wish nothing but success to every one of my brothers in that locker room that I’ve had a chance to build with over the years. Go Dawgs. #GodsChild.”
Poole played in 34 games throughout the course of his six-year career at Georgia, including the Bulldogs’ season-opener against Oregon less than three weeks ago. He was dressed out for the home-opener against Samford but did not see action and did not make the trip with the team to South Carolina on Saturday. Playing in 11 of 15 games last year, the Atlanta, Ga. native started multiple games down the stretch including the National Championship Game against Alabama where he had four tackles and a career-best two pass breakups. He was a projected starter for Georgia coming into the 2022 season at STAR but saw Javon Bullard win that job and Tykee Smith take on more playing time as the season has gone along. As a result, Poole shifted his attention to cornerback and helping the Bulldogs build depth there before his departure.
