Depicted on Georgia’s football media guide is a play by defensive end David Pollack that some in the sports world may consider the most athletic play of the 2002 season.
On September 14, 2002, Georgia led South Carolina 3-0 in Columbia heading into the fourth quarter when Pollack stripped the football from Gamecocks quarterback Corey Jenkins in the endzone, caught the ball in mid-air for the interception while falling to the turf for a touchdown – the only touchdown for Georgia in a 13-7 Southeastern Conference opener.
The Snellville, Ga. native will get the same chance for glory against the Tigers when the teams play before an expected standing room only Tiger Stadium and a national CBS television audience at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
LSU coach Nick Saban said Pollack is a great athlete but the intensity he plays with gives him the edge on other players.
“He plays extremely hard and aggressively all the time,” Saban said.
“He’s one of those guys if you could get every guy on your team to play that well all the time, who knows what you could accomplish, and he does it all the time. I think he’s creating a lot of plays for them.”
“Pollack’s a tremendous playmaker for them.”
Pollack’s 14 sacks last season set a Georgia single-season record and ranked first in the SEC and seventh nationally. He also led the conference with 23 tackles-for-loss of 128 yards and 35 quarterback pressures.
Through three games this season, the 6-foot-3, 278-pound junior has recorded 20 tackles with 13 solo efforts and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. He has yet to record his first sack of the year, but Georgia coach Mark Richt said he is pleased with Pollack’s play thus far.
“He has been playing well and really got after it and had big success,” Richt said. “You can count on him if he is healthy.”
If Pollack gets his first sack on Saturday, Matt Mauck most likely will be the one taking the fall. The LSU quarterback said he respects Pollack because of his hard work ethic.
“He’s a great player and everything I’ve ever seen of him, he’s such an intense competitor,” Mauck said. “I think that’s one of the greatest things that a person can probably have.”
Pollack said he holds the same respect for the LSU offense. He said the matchup is typical of most SEC games.
“It’s a challenge we’ll be ready for,” Pollack said. “They have big, fast guys out wide and they have a good quarterback in Mauck. Their front line is huge, too, and they’re really skilled. In the SEC, everybody up front is huge. If we execute, we’ll be all right.”
Georgia nose guard Ken Veal said Pollack possesses great leadership qualities and acts as the Bulldogs’ drill sergeant on defense.
“He keeps us in line,” Veal said. “You really need a leader and he provides that for us.”
Veal said Pollack’s greatest asset is the way he hustles on every play. He said the defense feeds off that enthusiasm as a unit.
“If he plays hard and we play hard, the sky’s the limit,”
LSU offensive lineman Rodney Reed said Pollack reminds him of Tennessee’s Will Overstreet, who he played against a couple of years ago.
“He looks like a good player but he plays real hard,” Reed said. “The guy he reminds me of is Will Overstreet from Tennessee who makes plays from effort and toughness and just staying after you the whole game.”
Reed said that Pollack plays with the kind of tenacity that can make an impact on the outcome of a game.
“Pollack’s certainly their leader on defense as far as being their best player and emotional player,” Reed said. “I think he provides the leadership for them there and he’s going to be a factor for us.”
Reed said the prospect of playing opposite an All-American is always exciting.
“This is why you come to LSU,” Reed said. “This is why you play in the SEC is to play against guys like this to play against the Alex Browns or Jevon Kearses. It’s typical to play against guys like this in the SEC.”