Tuesday that they’ll remain teammates for years to come, as they signed to
play football at Cumberland University this fall.
Their decisions to sign on with the NAIA school in Cumberland, Tenn.
give West Laurens five players from this year’s football team moving to the
next level.
Pool and White will be joined by classmates A.J. Wright (Georgia State),
Thor Pate (Rhodes College) and Ty Harrington (LaGrange) in the college ranks
next year.
“I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was four or five years old,
playing flag football,” said Poole, a two-year starter at cornerback for the
Raiders who was named first-team all-region at the end of last season.
White said he and Pool visited the school on April 5, after several weeks
of contact with Cumberland coaches.
“The atmosphere (at Cumberland) is really nice,” said White, a second-
team all-region lineman who said he turned down a walk-on opportunity at
Georgia Southern to take the Bulldogs’ offer. “It almost seemed like high
school. It’s not too big, but it’s not too small.”
Both players are set to play defense at Cumberland (Pool at corner, White
at defensive tackle) and will be given a chance to play immediately, said John
Pate, who coached the pair last season.
“Tyler was our only first-team all-region player this year, and he led us
in interceptions,” Pate said. “It eventually got to where people just wouldn’t
throw his way. He was a real lockdown player for us.
“And Demario was just a dominant player on both sides. I really thought
he might have a chance at a I-AA scholarship, but in this scenario, he’s got a
shot to play right now.”