Tag: david pollack uga

ESPN names 3 former Bulldogs as top CFB defenders of 2000s

ESPN has released its list of the top 80 college football defenders of the 2000s. Georgia football is represented well. Details here.

[mm-video type=video id=01f1ngsjp5g4apwtrn playlist_id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f1ngsjp5g4apwtrn/01f1ngsjp5g4apwtrn-535daa8704047f97d3ede3ec77c6ede8.jpg]

ESPN recently ranked the top 80 college football defenders of the 2000s and, no surprise here, Georgia football is represented well with three selections.

Former Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith (2015-2017) is the first Dawg on the list at No. 36. Before Smith was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the eighth overall pick, he was lightning in a bottle for a Georgia defense that helped the Bulldogs make a title run in 2017. He was named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-American and earned the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

Sep 30, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Roquan Smith (3) celebrates with fans after the game at Neyland Stadium. Georgia won 41 to 0. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s Bill Connelly writes:

“Smith was the omnipresent superstar on a 2017 UGA team that came within one play of a national title. He recorded 14 TFLs and 6.5 sacks, and the fact that he was credited with only 137 tackles that year seems surprising; it felt like he made every single one.”

Coming in at No. 27 is former linebacker Jarvis Jones (2011-2012). Jones transferred to Georgia from USC in 2010 when the Trojans wouldn’t clear Jones to play because of a neck injury. The Bulldogs did clear Jones and the rest is history. Jones was a consensus All-American in both seasons in Athens and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2012. DawgNation remembers Jones most for his game-winning play versus Florida in 2012.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4l48iLKSo

“A lit stick of dynamite, the USC transfer missed two games in 2012 but still led the country in tackles for loss (23.5), saving his best performances for the biggest moments: He had 4.5 TFLs against Florida and three in a heartbreaking SEC championship loss to Alabama.”

The third and final Dawg on the list is former Georgia defensive lineman David Pollack (2002-2004). He comes in at No. 6 and you could argue he should even be lower. Pollack was a three-time first team All-American election, a three-time All-SEC first team selection and was named SEC  Player of the Year twice (2002, 2004). Pollack is both a member of the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jan 1, 2005, Tampa, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive end #47 David Pollack celebrates after his team forces a fumble by the Wisconsin Badgers in second half action at the 2005 Outback Bowl.The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 24-21.

Mandatory Credit: Photo By Paul Chapman-USA TODAY Sports

Copyright (c) 2005 Paul Chapman

“One nondescript year into his career, one would have never known was to come. But Pollack began his sophomore season with one of the most famous plays in school history — his in-one-motion strip sack and touchdown against South Carolina — and proceeded to live up to that standard in every following game. By the end of his career, he had recorded 59 TFLs and 36 sacks. And in 2020, he became a CFB Hall of Famer as well.

Here are the names ranked ahead of Pollack:

5. DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh (2010-13)

4. LB Khalil Mack, Buffalo (2010-13)

3. DE Terrell Suggs, Arizona State (2000-02)

2. S Ed Reed, Miami (1998-01)

1. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (2006-09)

You can check out the full list here.

Check out a new episode of “UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton” here! This will get you caught up on Georgia’s pro day.

 

David Pollack analyses UGA football’s quarterbacks. ‘It’s 100 percent a competition’

Georgia’s quarterback battle is heating up with just a couple of weeks left until kickoff. Former Bulldog David Pollack gives his take here.

For most of the offseason we expected Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman to be the next star signal caller for the Bulldogs, but when he decided to opt-out of the 2020 college football season, he started an intense quarterback battle with just a few weeks before kickoff.

Former Georgia legend and college football analyst David Pollack recently spoke about the Bulldogs’ future at quarterback on his podcast with co-host  Kirk Herbstreit.

“There’s a competition. There is a legit, 100 percent (competition). “If you want to talk about one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country, D’Wan Mathis does not get past two or three in the country. You watch that guy throw, he can throw it through a carwash and not get it wet. It is insane,” Pollack continues. “He’s got so much arm talent. He can sling the mess out of it. He’s a 4.4 type athlete. He’s a freak athlete. You watch him, he’s not polished yet. And he’s not buttoned up and not smooth.

D’Wan Mathis is a redshirt freshman from Belleville, Michigan who was rated as the No. 11 pro style quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class.

In 2019, Mathis was competing as the Bulldogs’ practice squad quarterback when doctors found a cyst on his brain. He missed the next year in recovery, but has been able to make it back on to the field as he was fully cleared to participate this summer.

Mathis is competing with redshirt sophomore J.T. Daniels, a transfer from USC, who missed last season for the Trojans with a knee injury, but served as starting quarterback in 2018 where he threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

“I think JT Daniels does a great job with timing and getting a ball out and throwing in rhythm, It’s a legit competition. The only thing Daniels, I can say, has a leg up on is experience.”

While Daniels is still not cleared for gameday, he has been practicing and the UGA coaching staff believes he will be cleared before kickoff on Sept. 26.

David Pollack reacts to Jamie Newman’s decision

Former Georgia football linebacker David Pollack reacts to UGA QB Jamie Newman’s decision to opt out of the 2020 CFB season.

Following the news of incoming graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, former Georgia All-American linebacker, and current ESPN college football analyst David Pollack has changed his pick of the Dawgs winning it all this year.

Pollack has been known to not be biased with his alma-matter but seems to have been all in on the Jamie Newman train.  With Newman now preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft and the quarterback position up in the air for Georgia, Pollack reverted to predicting Alabama or Clemson as the 2020 National Champions.

Newman completed 60.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,959 yards, 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in three seasons at Wake Forest. He also rushed for 826 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Now Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken will have to study their depth chart and see who is the next best pick to have under center in 2020.

2020 CFB season countdown: 47 days until Georgia football

Join us as we count down the days until Georgia football!

Georgia football great, No. 47, David Pollack is one of two Georgia players to ever be named A three time all-american. (Herschel Walker)

Pollack, from Snellville, Georgia, played for the Bulldogs from 2001-2004 where he totaled 36 sacks – a school record. Pollack’s accolades included 2002 SEC Player of the Year honors, the 2003 and 2004 Ted Hendricks Award, and, all in 2004, the Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy and SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Pollack was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 17th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, but his career was cut short by a broken cervical vertebra that he suffered in a game in 2006.

Pollack turned to sports media after his injury and he has since become one of the faces of college football because of his work at ESPN and his involvement in ESPN’s College Gameday.

David Pollack thinks Georgia QB Jamie Newman will be 1st round pick

Georgia Bulldogs legend David Pollack thinks current UGA quarterback Jamie Newman will be a first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft

Georgia Bulldogs legend David Pollack thinks current UGA quarterback Jamie Newman will be a first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Pollack, an ESPN College Football GameDay analyst, made the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this offseason.

The 2021 NFL Draft featured four quarterbacks selected in the first round (seven went before Jake Fromm). Kellen Mond, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Kyle Trask, Jamie Newman, and Mac Jones are among potential first round QBs in 2021. Of course forecasting first round QBs this far in advance is tough to predict. Nobody was projecting Joe Burrow to be a first round pick before the 2019 season.

Here’s what David Pollack had to say about Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman:

Newman has the potential to be a first round QB. NFL teams value quarterbacks with mobility more than ever. Newman will have to clean up his mistakes, but he’ll be surrounded by more talent than ever in Athens. Newman threw 11 interceptions last season to go along with 32 total touchdowns.

Newman’s experience at Wake Forest will be a plus for him. He went up against plenty of talented defenses during his time in the ACC. He’ll have a chance to boost his draft slot playing behind the best offensive line he’s ever had.

If Newman ends up as a first round pick, then that’s good news for Bulldog fans, who just saw Jake Fromm go in the fifth round. Will Jamie Newman be Georgia’s first QB selected in the first round since Matthew Stafford in 2009?

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Georgia’s David Pollack makes College Football Hall of Fame

Former Georgia Bulldog David Pollack has made the College Football Hall of Fame.

Former Georgia Bulldog David Pollack has made the College Football Hall of Fame. ESPN’s SportsCenter surprised Pollack with the news on air:

Pollack is the 19th former University of Georgia player or coach to make the College Football Hall of Fame. Pollack had an incredible four year career at Georgia, which helped him get drafted 17th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. A scary neck injury forced Pollack to retire from the NFL, but he’s worked with ESPN’s College GameDay since 2011.

Pollack was a three-time All-American at Georgia and was twice the SEC Player of the Year. He helped Mark Richt and UGA turn around the football program following almost twenty disappointing seasons.

Pollack’s most memorable play came against the South Carolina Gamecocks when he took the ball from the Gamecock quarterback without him noticing. Pollack helped UGA have a 13-1 season in 2002 that ended with a Sugar Bowl victory over Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles.

Jan 1, 2005, Tampa, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive end #47 David Pollack celebrates after his team forces a fumble by the Wisconsin Badgers in second half action at the 2005 Outback Bowl.The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 24-21. Credit: Photo By Paul Chapman-USA TODAY Sports; Copyright (c) 2005 Paul Chapman

[lawrence-auto-related count=2]