Pooles work paying off for North Point

North Point coach Ken Lane is an early riser. He gets up before dawn and is in his coach's office by 7 a.m. each morning, even during the summer. Inevitably, on his way in, he'll walk by the school's football stadium. Down on the field, he'll notice some kid drenched in sweat running sprints all by himself.

Lane will smile, then continue on his way. It's been the same every day for the last four years: Get up, go to school, see Jawan Poole busting his butt.

"That's just the kind of kid he is -he's out there every day running, and then he'll be back here in the afternoon for another workout," Lane said. "He's one of the most competitive, dedicated kids I've been around. He has a passion for the game and he just loves football. He's always striving to come out on top."

Poole, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior outside linebacker, has had the same routine since his ninth grade year, when he moved within walking distance of North Point. He works out twice a day, every day, pausing maybe once a week to let his body recover.

In the morning, at the stadium, he does cardio work, which includes running sprints, hills and stadium steps. A few hours later, he's in the weight room throwing up 350 pounds on the bench and squatting over 400 pounds.

"I want to be in better shape then the average player," Poole said. "That's how I stand out."

Poole, a key cog in North Point's stellar linebacker core, has been standing out since his freshman year. Barely 13 years old, Poole looked like a senior who'd been in the weight room for three years. He still needed to prove his football prowess, however, so he played freshman ball initially. But after the season, it became quite evident he didn't need jayvee.

"He comes in for August two-a-days his sophomore year and he jumps right into the varsity drills without so much as a thought to join the jayvee guys," Lane said. " Then he went out and took the lead in the varsity drills. He more than held his own."

Thus, Poole made the ambitious leap from freshman football to varsity starter. He hasn't left the field in three years.

With the body of a professional wrestler and the speed of a sprinter, Poole's impact is immeasurable. When North Point drops into a cover-2, Poole can play safety. When they line up in their normal base set, he roams the box from his natural linebacker position. But his favorite? Poole relishes the goal-line schemes, where he can put his hand in the dirt and rush the quarterback.

"I like to get in there and hit, that's what I feed off of," Poole said. "I like to get up in a lineman's pads, get in the backfield and get those tackles for loss. That's why I run all those hills. I'm getting my body ready to take on those linemen."

But while Poole's physical abilities are noteworthy, they're not even the best part of his game. After playing football since he was in diapers, he's developed a sixth-sense most high school football players lack. His instincts have been aided by his daily film-watching routine (during those few hours when he's not working out) and his obsessive study habits.

"He's very smart out there," Lane said. "He pays attention to detail."

Said Poole: "I can see things coming before they happen."

Take the Westlake game last year, when North Point squeaked out a 7-0 victory. Westlake runs a confounding offense with lots of motion and misdirection. Sometimes defenses have a difficult time even picking up the ball.

So Poole hit the books like a medical student studying for the MCATs before that game. He noticed that whenever Westlake's lead running back went in motion and lined up as a tight end the Wolverines usually ran a quarterback bootleg. When that scenario played out during the game, Poole was ready.

"I knew it was coming, so I called my own blitz, came in from the outside and got the quarterback," Poole said. "I stripped the ball and caused a fumble."

For all Poole's stellar contributions, however, he's still not even the top player on his team. In fact, he's not even the best linebacker. That distinction goes to Conner Crowell, a 6-1, 215-pound phenom who's considered the top linebacker in Maryland.

But despite having to surrender the spotlight, there's no jealousy between them. That being said, the two do go at it - in a Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen kind of way.

"We're always competing, whether it's football, basketball or video games," Crowell said. "We both want that No. 1 spot. Some days he gets me and others I get him. But we're cool; he's one of my best friends. Jawan is one of the hardest workers I know. He's a great player and a great person all-around. I'm happy to have him on my team."

Lane acknowledged that Crowell might be the better prospect because of his size and superhuman athleticism. But on the field, he's not so sure.

"I'll tell you what, Jawan is every bit as productive as Conner," Lane said. "They're both tremendous playmakers."

Maybe so, but there's no denying which player the college recruiters prefer. Crowell has over 20 Division I offers. Poole has one.

The reason? That dreaded eyeball test.

"People come in, look at my size, and they tell me what I can't do," Poole said.

Poole's size is a touchy subject. He's a tad shorter than 5-foot-10, which is an average height for a teenage boy. But many Division I college recruiters won't even consider offering a linebacker who's shorter than 6-feet. Crowell, for example, is over 6-0. He's reaped the benefits.

"More than one bigger school came back to me and said, 'If Jawan were the same size as Conner, we would have offered him before Conner,'" Lane said. "Unfortunately, Jawan is just one of those 'tweener' guys."

Poole has never used his genes as an excuse. Instead, he's compensated for them by honing what he can control. Thus the stadium steps at 7 a.m., the hours of film study, the daily weight training sessions, the personal trainers, the camps, the clinics. He made himself into a prime prospect.

"I do everything possible to get faster, stronger and more physical than a taller person," Poole said. "I told myself, with this work hard, maybe that will make the difference."

It did make a difference. One college, Akron, from the Mid-American Conference, thought enough of Poole's intangible assets to offer him a scholarship. It's not the same as an offer from Ohio State, like Crowell has, but one is all it takes to keep the college football dream alive.

"All the hard work finally paid off," Poole said. "It was a dream come true. I want to play football - that's what I do. Now I know I can keep playing the game I love."