Alabama-bound IOL Casey Poe has given small-town Lindale 'a special experience’ to be a part of

LINDALE, Texas — On3’s top-rated interior offensive lineman checked off every single box for college programs around the country.

Casey Poe, a multi-sport standout that balanced track and field with anchoring the Lindale (Texas) High School offensive line known for deep runs in the Texas state offensive line competition as well as grounding and pounding on the turf on Friday nights. On Wednesday, the elite interior OL committed to Alabama over the likes of Georgia, Oklahoma, Auburn, Clemson, Texas Tech and LSU.

The 6-foot-4.5, 285-pound Poe is the No. 34-ranked recruit in the On300 out of a small town in East Texas. In a town of little more than 6,300 people, it was easy for Lindale High’s Chris Cochran to recognize talent when Poe popped up in middle school.

“Seriously,” Cochran started. “It was the sixth or seven grade and you just knew he was gonna be different.”

“I didn’t claim Alabama good,” the coach laughed after Poe locked in his commitment to roll with the Tide on July 12, “but you knew he was gonna be pretty good. As a freshman, we moved him up the playoffs late in some of those games to state and when he punched someone, he punched them differently than any other freshman we’ve ever seen. When you think about the situation he’s in and all the hard work he’s put in to get to the point, it brings you back … that’s the same work ethic and the same character we’ve seen him in literally since he was in the sixth grade.”

Lindale is no stranger to blue-chip recruits either.

That 2020 season Cochran referred to, Poe contributed to a line that helped carve paths for On3 four-star RB Jordan Jenkins, now at Baylor. Jenkins was the No. 36 back in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking in the 2021 cycle.

Cochran’s also well-versed when it comes to offensive line prospects. His older brother, Josh Cochran, was a highly recruited tackle out of Hallsville in East Texas. Josh inked with the Longhorns and was a three-year letterman with 23 starts — and is now the tight ends coach for Texas Tech.

Poe is in a different category than even the best athletes that Cochran has been around.

“The closest was my brother, but Josh wasn’t as heavy as Casey. He was longer and leaner and bent really well, he had good hands that were really nasty, but Casey is a guy that’ll go down as one of the most special experiences that we’re getting to be a part of here,” the coach said.

“He’s a special young man and he’s very gifted. He knows what hard work is. He knows that to who much is given, much is required. He gets a lot of attention, and because of that, everyone is paying attention to him. More is expected of him and he handles that well.

“It’s exciting, it’s fun to have a guy like that … you know what you’re gonna get every day. We ask a lot of him. All eyes are on him and he can impact a lot of different people in our community, at our school, and for us in that locker room. We want him to be really tough and really competitive, and he is all of those things.”

There are other linemen around the country with comparable levels of talent as Poe, but very few with the same amount of drive and ownership of his responsibilities away from the field.

The newest member of the Tide’s 2024 class from Texas

“Bama is who they are because of Nick Saban and his staff,” Cochran started. “They did a fantastic job recruiting him and working through to get to know him, and he does a great job of always answering the phone. If someone wants to contact him, he answers, and he’s carried the load …”

“That’s just who he is — he’s pretty on the character side of it,” his coach added. “And you have to that that when you’re talking about ‘Bama.”