Tyrone Poole (born February 3, 1972) 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 ...

player who played 13 seasons as a

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 ...

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). 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 ...

for the

Fort Valley State Wildcats The Fort Valley State Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Fort Valley State University, located in Fort Valley, Georgia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wildcats are full members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athleti ...

. He was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

22nd overall of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

. Poole has also played for

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 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He earned

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and t ...

s with the Patriots in

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...

and

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...

. In 2011, Poole released a book, "Ultimate Success in the Game of Life," that chronicles his life, going from poverty, to quitting football his senior year at LaGrange High School, to winning the Super Bowl.

Early life

Poole graduated from LaGrange High School, where he lettered in both

and track.

College career

Poole was as a four-year starter at

Fort Valley State University Fort Valley State University (FVSU; formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University Syste ...

and became the first player from that school to ever be selected in the first round of the NFL draft. His career numbers included 41 starts in 42 games with 17 interceptions (262 yards) and 70 punt returns for 934 yards (13.3 avg). Poole also set the school record for the 200-meter dash and finished second in the national finals. He majored in business.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Poole was selected by the

in the first round (22nd overall) of the

out of

. He was the second draft choice in Panthers history behind

Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panth ...

. He spent three years anchoring the Panthers' secondary.

Indianapolis Colts

Poole was traded to the

in 1998 in exchange for a second-round selection in the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

. He played three years for the Colts, starting almost every game.

First stint with Broncos

Poole signed with the

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 ...

before the 2001 season, however, he spent the entire

2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...

on the reserve squad. He returned to full-time play for the 2002 season.

New England Patriots

Poole signed with the

before the

2003 NFL season The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergen ...

. The Patriots finished with a 14–2 record and had a victory in

over the

. Poole started the 2004 season again as a starting cornerback, but injured his knee in a Week 6 matchup with Seattle. Poole returned briefly for a few snaps near the end of a Week 14 game against Cincinnati, but was shut down after this and did not play again for the rest of the season. Still, the Patriots went on to win

, giving Poole his second Super Bowl ring, even though Poole did not play in the game due to his knee injury. For the 2005 season, Poole once again began the season as a starting cornerback. However, after playing against Oakland in Week 1, he injured his ankle and would not play again all season. The Patriots were eliminated in the divisional round and Poole parted ways with New England.

Oakland Raiders

Poole signed with the Oakland Raiders in the 2006 offseason where he saw action as a reserve player. He was released after the 2006 season.

Houston Texans

Poole was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

during the

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 ...

preseason. However, he was released by the team during final cuts.

Second stint with Broncos

Poole signed with the

on August 13, 2008, but was released on August 30.

Tennessee Titans

Poole was signed by the

on November 22, 2008, after

Reynaldo Hill Reynaldo Romel Hill (born August 28, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the early 2000s. Hill played college football for the Florida Gat ...

and Eric King were placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poole, Tyrone 1972 births Living people American football cornerbacks Contestants on American game shows Fort Valley State Wildcats football players Carolina Panthers players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players Tennessee Titans players Players of American football from LaGrange, Georgia