South Carolina's annual Garnet and Black Spring Game Saturday allowed fans to see a sneak peek of what's in store for the upcoming football season.
Sophomore tight end Kiel Pollard used this opportunity to showcase the work he has put in during this offseason and revealed how he is in for a breakout sophomore campaign.
On Saturday, the Moultrie, Georgia product hauled in 10 receptions for 107 yards, bursting out of his breaks and exerting excellent open-field ability with the ball in his hands.
Pollard had a solid freshman season last year, seeing action in 12 games with the majority of his action coming on special teams. Against Georgia he reeled in an 18-yard catch for his first career reception. On that 18-yard catch, Pollard’s toughness and grit were on display as he violently ripped the ball out of the Georgia defensive back’s hands and turned a potential costly interception into a key drive-saving snag on third down.
This sort of toughness and passion that Pollard plays with on an every-down basis is exactly the type of player that coach Will Muschamp wants in his program. “Effort, toughness and discipline” have become the ideals on which Muschamp wants to build his program and nobody embodies these characteristics like Pollard.
When Pollard first came to South Carolina last fall, there were many questions about where he would fit in on the field. Many saw him as not being tall enough to play tight end, while others saw him as being too stocky to play wide receiver.
Yet this dilemma is exactly what makes Pollard so dangerous.
Football is a matchup game at every level. As a tight end-wide receiver hybrid, NFL Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker has been a mismatch his entire career.
Pollard’s large frame on the outside allows him to outmuscle smaller defensive backs, while his quickness and athleticism allow him to evade linebackers with ease.
When you watch film, Pollard is a football player before he is an athlete. His intangibles and work ethic will take him farther than any physical measurable.
That is not to say Pollard isn’t an exceptional athlete. In fact, he does have superior burst and tremendous strength. Yet his football IQ, competitiveness and tenacity set him apart and are the qualities that are going to get him playing time.
Much of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper’s scheme relies on the short wide receiver screen game, which fits well for Kiel. A significant portion of his 107 yards Saturday came on outside wide receiver screens, where Pollard exhibited how dynamic he is.
His open-field quickness made him too slippery for linebackers to tackle, while his sheer size made him too hard for smaller corners to bring down.
Pollard’s body, coupled with his refusal to be tackled, allowed him to turn routine screen passes into large chunks of yardage multiple times throughout the game.
Pollard’s performance this Saturday opened up many Gamecock fans' eyes to a star that has been quietly developing in Columbia. Muschamp acknowledged Pollard's hard work earlier in the spring and, on Saturday, Pollard backed up those sentiments.
Although it was only a sneak peek, Pollard put the SEC on notice for a big-time sophomore season ahead.