Former Georgia linebacker set to be honored at Saturday's game
David Pollack, one of Georgia’s most revered defensive players of all time, will be honored with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute on Saturday night before the Bulldogs take on South Carolina.
The linebacker was a three-time All-American, finishing his Georgia career with 36 sacks and four interceptions. In 2002, he led the SEC in sacks with 14 and was named the SEC Player of the Year. In 2002 and 2004 he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and Pollack won the award for nation’s best defensive player, the Bednarik Award, in 2004.
The only other Georgia Bulldog to be named a three-time All-American? Herschel Walker.
Under head coach Mark Richt, Pollack helped lead the Bulldogs to a 2002 SEC Championship, their first conference title since 1982.
He played just over a season in the NFL before retiring due to a neck injury suffered in the second game of his second season. He started five games for the Cincinnati Bengals but saw action in 14. He was the No. 17 overall NFL Draft pick in 2005.
Pollack joined ESPN in 2009 as a college football analyst and has since found tremendous success, including on ESPN’s College Gameday. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020 and inducted in December.
Georgia is a massive favorite in this weekend’s matchup
Georgia is definitely better than South Carolina on paper, but just how much better are the Bulldogs than the Gamecocks? The current point spread favors Georgia by 31.5 points.
Kirby Smart’s defense already has 10 sacks on the season, and South Carolina has yet to name a starting quarterback for this weekend. Graduate assistant turned starting quarterback Zeb Noland has started the first two games for first-year head coach Shane Beamer, but quarterback Luke Doty could be ready to go. Nothing says “Welcome back to college football” like a date with the Georgia front seven.
Beamer is familiar with Georgia’s offensive game plan, as he was a tight ends coach there in 2016-2017 in Smart’s first two seasons.
The Bulldogs are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with the Gamecocks, but a struggling South Carolina team has given them trouble in recent years. Georgia’s last home loss came at the hands of South Carolina in a 20-17 double overtime loss two years ago that all but ruined Georgia’s College Football Playoff hopes.