By Jim Wyatt | The Tennessean
As a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Tauren Poole was stuck behind running backs Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty.
So he waited. Poole ended up waiting for two years, as other backs in front of him got a chance. Before he knew it, half his college career was behind him.
Foster and Hardesty eventually made it to the NFL. Now, as he prepares for the NFL Combine this week in Indianapolis, it's Poole's time once again to prove he belongs.
"You know what?" Poole said on Tuesday. "Working my way up from the bottom at Tennessee, I think that helped me get to where I am today. Yeah, I had to wait my turn. But the way I see it, it happened the way it should have. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
"All that did was provide motivation to a young cat like me. It taught me to never give up and to keep fighting for something you love -- the game of football."
Poole, who has been training in recent weeks in Boca Raton, Fla., with other NFL Draft prospects, said what he learned from players such as Foster and Hardesty also helped prepare him for the next level.
Foster has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons with the Texans after initially going undrafted following a disappointing senior season at UT. Hardesty, a second-round pick by the Browns in 2010, suffered a torn ACL his rookie season and has managed just 266 yards in his first two NFL seasons.
Poole's best season at UT came during his junior year, when he ran for 1,034 yards and 11 touchdowns. He managed just 693 yards and five scores as a senior last season while averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. Poole has remained in contact with both Foster and Hardesty.
"I know both of those guys went through some tough times, some adverse situations. Coming out, Arian didn't have a stellar senior season and he went undrafted. But look at him now. He is growing up and working hard and doing a great job. Montario, he has been plagued by injuries, but he keeps going," Poole said.
"The time I spent with those guys, I learned a whole lot. That's where I learned to study behaviors and how guys work and how they deal with success and adversity. You learn from those guys and try and pattern after them."
Still, Poole knows he has plenty to prove this week in Indianapolis.
According to NFL Draft Scout, Poole is ranked as the 12th-best running back available in the upcoming draft, sandwiched in between Florida's Chris Rainey and Ohio State's Dan Herron. Alabama's Trent Richardson, who has been compared by some to Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, is regarded as the best running back available after rushing for 1,679 yards in 2011.
Poole had 1,898 yards in his four seasons at Tennessee after managing just 156 yards in his first two seasons.
Sporting News draft analyst Russ Lande, formerly a scout with the Browns and Rams, called Poole an "intriguing prospect." At the East-West Shrine Game, Poole was awarded the Pat Tillman Award for being the player that best demonstrated "courage, perseverance and talent throughout the week." He also showed his talent.
"Obviously he didn't put up the numbers at Tennessee in terms of being that dominant guy during the course of his career," Lande said of Poole. "But I think, athletically, you look at him, he is a pretty well-built kid. Not many of us knew a lot about him when we got down there (for the East-West Shrine Game), and by the end of the week, he had really impressed. He had a good week.
"He is an impressive kid. He is athletic. He cuts well. He has good vision, good instincts. I think probably somewhere in the fourth round to sixth round, somebody is going to take a chance on him."
Poole, who started 49 games during his career at Tennessee, said he'd be worth taking a chance on.
On Tuesday, he wouldn't reveal what he might run in the 40-yard dash -- he wants it to be a surprise. He said he's trimmed down, and at 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, he's ready to put on a show.
Just wait, he said.
"I can't down myself for the type of career somebody else had. All I can do is focus on me getting better as a player," Poole said. "But I would put myself up there with anybody in this draft class. That's no disrespect to anybody else out there, that is just confidence in myself.
"I am trying to blow everything away (in Indianapolis), whether it be interviews, the running, all that. Every single thing, I want to show teams I can do it. This is my big chance, and I am ready to show out."