Brodney Depaul Pool (born May 24, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Early life

Pool attended Westbury High School, where he was a five star recruit. As a junior, he had 114 tackles and 4 interceptions. During his senior season, he tallied 75 tackles and 11 interceptions (school record) at

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

. As a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, he had 40 carries for 159 yards (3.975-yard avg.), 2 rushing touchdowns, 3 receptions for 112 yards (37.3-yard avg.) and 2 receiving touchdowns. He also lettered in track.

College career

Pool accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. In 2002, as a true freshman he appeared in 12 games, playing mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and making 11 tackles (7 solo). As a sophomore, he became a starter at

, registering 68 tackles (41 solo), 2 sacks, 6 passes defensed, one forced fumble, one blocked kick and 7 interceptions (fourth in school history). As a junior, he was on the Thorpe and Nagurski Watchlists, posted 92 tackles (led the team), 65 solo tackles, 9 passes defensed (led the team) and 2 interceptions. He declared for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

at the end of the season. He finished his college career with 171 tackles, 9 interceptions, 15 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He was a part of two Big 12 championship teams (2002 and 2004).

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Pool was selected by the

in the second round (34th overall) of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. Although he did not start during his rookie season, he appeared in 13 games mostly as a

, registering his first interception. He registered 25 tackles, one sack, one interceptions, 7 passes defensed, 10

tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, he lost out the battle for the starting

position to Sean Jones, but started 3 games at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

due to injuries to

Leigh Bodden Leigh Edmond Bodden (born September 24, 1981) is an American former professional football cornerback. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Duquesne. Bodden also playe ...

Daylon McCutcheon Daylon Anthony McCutcheon (born December 9, 1976) is an American former professional football player and coach. He was a cornerback for seven seasons for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and later was an assistant coach ...

and

Gary Baxter Gary Wayne Baxter (born November 24, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens i ...

. He posted 54 tackles, one interception, 10 passes defensed, one sack, 20

tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he became the regular starter at

, making 72 tackles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a Browns' franchise record 100 yards against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on November 18. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he started 15 games after missing the season opener. He recorded 65 tackles, 3 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he missed the last 5 games of the regular season after suffering a concussion and being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

, but still tied for the team lead with 4 interceptions. He also had 48 tackles, 10 passes defensed, one sack and 2

tackles. He wasn't given a contract offer as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

at the end of the year because of his concussion history.

New York Jets

On March 11,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Pool signed a one-year deal as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

valued at $1.3 million. He finished the regular season with 63 tackles, one interception, 9 passes defensed, 2

tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He made his first career postseason start and his first career postseason appearance against

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on Wild Card weekend, making 7 tackles (one for loss), as the Jets won 17–16. On January 23, he recorded his first career postseason interception in the AFC Championship Game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. However, the Jets lost 24–19, falling one game short of the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

for the second straight season. On August 3,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he signed a one-year deal with the Jets. He appeared in 14 games (6 starts), posting 37 tackles, a half sack, one interception, 3 passes defensed and 6

tackles. He missed 2 games with a knee injury.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 15,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Pool signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, reuniting with former Browns defensive coordinator

Rob Ryan Robert Allen Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently an assistant head coach for the USC Trojans. Ryan has served as a defensive coordinator or assistant coach for nine different NFL teams. He was the lineb ...

. He failed his conditioning test upon arriving at camp, before passing it on his second attempt. On August 6, he was released one week into the start of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

Coaching career

On January 16, 2015, Pool accepted a quality control coaching position at

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

on the staff of

Art Briles Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2002 to 2007 and the Baylor B ...

Personal life

His mother Rose, was the Westbury High School athletic director and an assistant track coach at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. He also has two kids, Blaze Pool, and Brooklyn Pool.

References

External links

Oklahoma bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pool, Brodney 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Houston American football safeties Oklahoma Sooners football players Cleveland Browns players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players