Florida State has landed one of its biggest verbal commitments of the cycle, as 2027 four-star safety Ta’Shawn Poole announced Friday evening that he’s committing to the Seminoles.
Poole, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound defensive back out of Howard High School in Macon, Georgia, picked FSU over finalists Georgia and Tennessee, capping a recruitment that saw him take official visits to both rival programs before circling back to Tallahassee. He’s rated the No. 64 overall prospect in the country by the 247Sports Composite, the No. 6 safety nationally and the No. 5 recruit in the state of Georgia.
The tape backs up the ranking. Poole racked up 37 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and a sack as a junior, and that’s without being the primary read teams were scheming against in his own defensive backfield. He’s just as dangerous on offense, where he caught 30 passes for 454 yards and seven touchdowns, added 200 rushing yards and four more scores on 33 carries, and even housed a punt return. That kind of production, at that kind of size, tells you everything about the type of athlete FSU just added to Tribe27.
Poole credited the relationships he built in Tallahassee, including a family tie (his aunt is an FSU alum), for tipping the scales toward the Seminoles. Safeties coach Evan Cooper, who led the pursuit, lands the most notable commitment of his time on staff, and it’s easy to see why defensive coordinator Tony White is excited about the fit. Poole’s size and range make him a natural for the rover role White likes to deploy in his scheme, a spot built for a safety who can hit downhill, run with tight ends and slot receivers, and still make plays near the line of scrimmage.
Nothing is signed, and Georgia in particular made a late push that has to be acknowledged. FSU still has to close this out through the Early Signing Period, meaning they will need a strong enough season to keep the staff intact and build belief in the program. But make no mistake, landing a top-100 national prospect over two SEC programs, including the home state Georgia Bulldogs, at a position of long-term need in the secondary, is exactly the kind of win Norvell’s staff needed on the trail. With Poole in the fold, FSU now has 16 verbal commitments in Tribe27, and the class has climbed from No. 53 to No. 40 nationally.
Welcome to the Tribe, Ta’Shawn. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!