Last night the Tide Illustrated staff was on hand to see four-star offensive lineman Casey Poe.

Poe and his Lindale Eagles took on Chapel Hill a team that was only two years removed from winning a state championship. In terms of what the game meant for Poe, was the opportunity to prove some doubters wrong and additionally make the playoffs after coming into the game with a 3-4 record.

After last names 35-24 win, it was pretty clear that they did exactly that.

“This game meant everything,” Poe said. “Coming into the game their was a lot of doubt about who we are and what we could do as a team but one thing about our guys is that we believed and knew we could pull it off.”

“This win was major, one of the biggest of my high school career. It was really special, all week we harped on believing in each other for 48 minutes no matter what we faced or no matter what the obstacles were. To have no one on the outside think we could get the victory only fueled our fire, making us play even harder.”

It was apparent all throughout the night the offense was running through Poe with 90 percent of the plays going through him in a dominant effort running the football for the majority of the game.

After the game, Poe spoke about his excitement to get to Tuscaloosa as an early enrollee and more.

“I’m very focused on happing here first. That said I cannot wait to get to Tuscaloosa. I’ve built a strong relationship with the staff. Just the idea of playing for coach [Eric] Wolford is something I get more excited about when I think about it. Also, seeing how the line seems to be coming together week by week has been just a testament to their resolve and the standard at Alabama.”

“I’m 1000% locked in I’ve shut my recruitment down. I like the class and feel that all have the same mindset to come in and dominate. I love those guys and have even started to build relationships with the 2025 guys as well. The future is bright and it’s truly something you’ll just have to see to understand.”

With Poe, locked in now it’s only a matter of time until the big fella is on campus. For now, he will focus on helping his hometown Eagles get to the playoffs. At the end of the day, Alabama fans should know they are getting a steal both on and off the field.