Myles Pollard, Wolverine

 

Myles Pollard (image via 247 Sports)

Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood cornerback Myles Pollard committed to Michigan on Wednesday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, and Oregon, among others.

Pollard is listed at 6'2", 185 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #51 CB
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #34 CB
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #59 CB

Hit the jump for more.

Pollard was a high school teammate of Michigan freshman linebacker Junior Colson. When Maurice Linguist was hired this past off-season to be Michigan's co-defensive coordinator, he put Michigan on Pollard's radar with an offer. Then when Linguist left Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh hired Steve Clinkscale - who happened to have a positive relationship with Pollard. The lanky corner took an official visit in June and was a prime target of the coaching staff, also hitting it off with 5-star cornerback commit Will Johnson.

Pollard is on the taller end of cornerbacks, and usually that comes along with some stiffness and a lack of change-of-direction skills. Luckily, that does not seem to be a big concern with Pollard. Despite his height, he has really quick feet and an ability to plant his foot and change direction quickly. That helps him come up and stop the run or tackle on short completions, even if he happens not to be in great position. His backpedal is smooth and he has the ability to flip his hips. He is also a physical run-stopper, can deliver an occasional big hit, and will compete for jump balls.

I have two concerns with Pollard. One is a lack of blazing speed, though I think his length will make up for some of that. The other is that on occasion in man coverage, he will guess wrong, opening up his hips a little bit early. I think that can be overcome with more training and film work.

Overall, Pollard is another prospect that I believe to be underrated as a 3-star and the #466 overall player in the 247 Composite. I think Rivals is closest with a 4-star ranking and putting him as the #34 corner, but I'm surprised that there are 33 corners in the country who are better than him. He reminds me of current Michigan cornerback Gemon Green, and while I think Michigan fans might be down on him after an abysmal overall season for the Wolverines in 2020, I think Gemon is a good player who just went through some growing pains in his first couple weeks of significant action.

I think Pollard will be relatively ready to plug and play when he gets to college, perhaps spending a year learning the craft. But I would be mildly surprised if he's not ready to contribute as a sophomore.

TTB Rating: 83