Tight end Kiel Pollard "I don’t want to sit on the bench"
March 21, 2018
Tight end Kiel Pollard joined South Carolina as a high-profile flip in Will Muschamp’s first recruiting class. As a freshman, he got spot snaps in the slot as USC played two tight ends nearly the whole season.
But his sophomore campaign was not what he wanted.
Pollard got only 27 offensive snaps in 2017. Some were in garbage time. There were a variety of factors, and he returns as part of a tight ends room that’s still relatively stacked.
And he’s looking for a different sort of season from last year.
“Not satisfied with it, for the most part,” Pollard said. “I’m not expecting to sit on the bench or I don’t want to sit on the bench.”
The reasons for his small workload were multifaceted. He’s used primarily as a thicker (6-foot-1, 236 pounds) slot receiver, and USC got more from then-freshman Shi Smith in that position. When it wasn’t Smith, future NFL tight end Hayden Hurst usually lined up there, with Jacob August as a blocker in the box.
Hurst is gone, off to the NFL draft, but August is still there, as are three other tight ends who played last year and Kyle Markway, who was injured.
Pollard said K.C. Crosby, a starter in 2016, and August are getting most of the first team reps, while he and Markway are with the second group. Evan Hinson isn’t yet practicing fully after spending the start of the semester on the basketball team.
In a competitive room, Pollard said he’s trying to focus on smaller things.
“I’m just trying to stay consistent in whatever I do,” Pollard said. “Blocking, running routes. Just kind of working hard.”
He said he believes if he can do that, everything will work out.
Earlier in the spring, tight ends coach Pat Washington praised Pollard’s work and how he’s adjusted from being a high school wide receiver. He referred to the third-year Gamecock as “playing at a high level.”
Pollard caught one pass last season for 4 yards. As a high school senior, he was a top offensive player in the largest class in Georgia high school football, with 76 catches for 1,163 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Gamecocks are adding at least one more potential slot receiver in Josh Vann and will have more competition with Deebo Samuel coming back.
It might make playing time harder to come by in that slot position, but as Pollard aims to avoid sitting on the bench, he’s not thinking about the players around him.
“I’m just going to try to focus on me and be my biggest critic and work hard,” Pollard said.
View attachment 302 Tight Ends Coach Pat Washington
THE STATE
March 21, 2018
Tight end Kiel Pollard joined South Carolina as a high-profile flip in Will Muschamp’s first recruiting class. As a freshman, he got spot snaps in the slot as USC played two tight ends nearly the whole season.
But his sophomore campaign was not what he wanted.
Pollard got only 27 offensive snaps in 2017. Some were in garbage time. There were a variety of factors, and he returns as part of a tight ends room that’s still relatively stacked.
And he’s looking for a different sort of season from last year.
“Not satisfied with it, for the most part,” Pollard said. “I’m not expecting to sit on the bench or I don’t want to sit on the bench.”
The reasons for his small workload were multifaceted. He’s used primarily as a thicker (6-foot-1, 236 pounds) slot receiver, and USC got more from then-freshman Shi Smith in that position. When it wasn’t Smith, future NFL tight end Hayden Hurst usually lined up there, with Jacob August as a blocker in the box.
Hurst is gone, off to the NFL draft, but August is still there, as are three other tight ends who played last year and Kyle Markway, who was injured.
Pollard said K.C. Crosby, a starter in 2016, and August are getting most of the first team reps, while he and Markway are with the second group. Evan Hinson isn’t yet practicing fully after spending the start of the semester on the basketball team.
In a competitive room, Pollard said he’s trying to focus on smaller things.
“I’m just trying to stay consistent in whatever I do,” Pollard said. “Blocking, running routes. Just kind of working hard.”
He said he believes if he can do that, everything will work out.
Earlier in the spring, tight ends coach Pat Washington praised Pollard’s work and how he’s adjusted from being a high school wide receiver. He referred to the third-year Gamecock as “playing at a high level.”
Pollard caught one pass last season for 4 yards. As a high school senior, he was a top offensive player in the largest class in Georgia high school football, with 76 catches for 1,163 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Gamecocks are adding at least one more potential slot receiver in Josh Vann and will have more competition with Deebo Samuel coming back.
It might make playing time harder to come by in that slot position, but as Pollard aims to avoid sitting on the bench, he’s not thinking about the players around him.
“I’m just going to try to focus on me and be my biggest critic and work hard,” Pollard said.
View attachment 302 Tight Ends Coach Pat Washington
THE STATE
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