On Monday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said sixth senior defensive back William Poole is no longer with the Bulldogs’ football program.
“William Poole is not going to be with us for the remainder of the season,” Smart said.
“He’s dealing with a personal matter, and he’s going to focus on that and his health and well-being, so he will not be with us for the rest of the year, unfortunately.”
Smart did not provide any further details why Poole will not be with the program for the rest of year.
A former four-star recruit in the class of 2017 out of Hapeville, Georgia, Poole played in 33 games during his UGA career. He was the Bulldogs’ starter in last season’s SEC Championship Game and in the College Football Playoff national championship.
Poole played in just one game this season — Georgia’s 49-3 season-opening victory over Oregon.
Smart spoke on the current state of Georgia’s defensive backs following Poole’s departure. He said UGA will not have to make any big changes.
“We’ve been chugging along, we’ve had Bullard at the star and Tykee at star the entire fall camp,” Smart said. “Poole played some there in the third-down situations against Oregon, but he was working more at corner.
“We’ve got the guys we’ve got; and we’ve got to get the guys we’ve got better to be where we want to be.”
Poole did not make the trip with the team to Columbia for Georgia’s 48-7 win over South Carolina.
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