Name: Micah Pollard
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Jacksonville (FL) Bartram Trail
Position: Linebacker
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Pollard #95 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in twelve games and made 8 tackles.
TTB Rating: 74
The expectations for Pollard were a little bit up in the air going into 2022. He was light at 200 pounds and Michigan didn't have a strong need for a bunch of new contributions from linebackers. I expected him to redshirt for those reasons, but he surprisingly played in twelve games - mostly on special teams, but in four games at linebacker. So he burned his redshirt, which is usually a clue that the coaching staff likes a player.
The 2023 season will be an interesting one for him. Sam Webb recently pegged Pollard as someone that Michigan fans aren't talking enough about when it comes to playing time for 2023, but I'm not sure where he fits. Junior Colson is expected to start, with Jimmy Rolder or Ernest Hausmann or Michael Barrett taking the other inside linebacker spot. Pollard is also light, so maybe he's not an inside linebacker . . . but there's not a ton of room for a 206 lb. non-nickel on the field. If Michigan needs a nickel, they'll probably go with a safety type. So I don't necessarily buy the idea that Pollard will play much of a role on defense, but he should be a regular special teams contributor once again in 2023.
Prediction: Backup linebacker and special teamer
SpTms ... earn your way onto the field young fella!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun one. I think Thunder's take is spot on.
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems like a Crippen/Atteberry situation where the staff like him and he's a viable option, but there's just too much talent and depth ahead of him to really see a meaningful role right now. He could emerge as the top backup, or even a starter if things break right, in 2024.
However - there's one big difference in that the OL positions don't have the flexibility or substitution patterns that we see on defense. So maybe Pollard can find his way onto the field in 2023 in some kind of package that doesn't make sense for Rolder or Hausman. Maybe Michigan is going to run some version of a lighter 3-4 package? Seems like a stretch though. I'd love to say edge but unless there's a huge size gain there, I don't think even 210 pounds is viable unless he's a pass rush demon.
Anyway, he seems like a good promising young player but this seems like a pretty high rank for a 5th ILB and special teamer. For now he seems buried so some of the even more unproven guys who might be inferior players today could be substantially more important to our season.
This is a spot where I'll again raise the positional differences brought up in the TJ Guy post. Michigan is going to use 5-6 edges on meaningful downs (e.g., OSU) while using 2-3 ILBs. So while these are each 2 "starting" spots on paper there's a HUGE difference in the importance of the 5th guy. Namely, the 5th EDGE is a key rotational player and the 5th ILB is a guy who never going to come close to meaningful downs. It's night and day.
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