David Pollack on LSU, Georgia prep for SEC Championship game
David Pollack knows a thing or two about the SEC Championship game. Some of his memories are splendid.
Like the time his 2002 Georgia football team smothered Arkansas to snap a 20-year SEC title drought.
Since then, Pollack’s alma mater played the Bayou Bengals four times in the SEC Championship game. One was a lopsided loss when Pollack was a junior in 2003.
The next was a lopsided Georgia victory in 2005. After that, LSU dominated Georgia in 2011 and in 2019.
So yes, there’s a history here between LSU and Georgia. A history that David Pollack saw firsthand.
But Pollack and I were all about the present this week, as another LSU – Georgia matchup barrels down the tracks.
first things first: David Pollack and I opened the convo with some Georgia high school football playoff talk, of course
Pollack is a defensive assistant for his kids’ cluster high school football team, North Oconee High.
The Titans made the final four in Georgia’s AAAA classification with a win over Lindsay Scott’s alma mater, Wayne County.
Now they play the winner of Nick Chubb‘s Cedartown Bulldogs and Kirby Smart’s Bainbridge Bearcats in Cedartown for a shot at the State Championship game.
I appreciated the legendary Georgia roots running through this one.
I think all the Dawgs fans out there will love to hear how Pollack balances his roles on College GameDay, the Family Goals Podcast, and now, with North Oconee’s football team.
OK, on to the SEC title discussion
I know David Pollack has a lot on his plate.
But I also know he’s seen enough of Kirby Smart’s Georgia football practices to understand what SEC Championship game week looks like for the Dawgs.
“Kirby’s a grinder. He’s not going to make any bones about it. You’re going to practice great, and you’re going to be a part of the team, and you’re going to work really hard,” Pollack told me.
“You’re going to be physical, and if you don’t, you don’t play. And it doesn’t matter who you are. He holds you to that standard. Usually, Tuesdays are the worst because of Bloody Tuesdays. You’re putting full pads on and knocking the piss out of each other the whole practice and tackling. He trusts his players, but he talks to them physically. They talk about relentlessness and they talk about physicality.”
Some things LSU should worry about, and some stuff Georgia needs to fix
Despite losing all of that talent to the NFL Draft, this Georgia team is still as stingy as it gets on defense.
There isn’t a team in the country that gave up fewer touchdowns than the Dawgs did during the 2022 regular season.
You would expect that to remain the case when LSU and Georgia strap it up for the SEC Championship game, but that’s why you play them.
“It’s mind-blowing to think about. Think about all the guys (Georgia) lost to the Draft. And to be sitting in this situation, it’s stupid,” Pollack said.
“You look at (Javon) Bullard and Malaki Starks, and these guys come in, but what do they do? They play the right way. Watch the Tennessee game, and you watch Bama‘s defense and you watch Georgia’s defense. Georgia’s defense is so organized. Make you earn it. Very physical, very tough. Know exactly what the answers are. I think Kirby’s coached the team like that.”
One thing Smart will need to coach up this week and beyond in the College Football Playoff: Georgia’s redzone offense.
“Offensively, (Georgia’s) in a little bit of a slump. They gotta find their way a little bit better.”
Despite the Dawgs’ concerns, Pollack sees Georgia’s blueprint for success
And it all starts with the Top Dawg.
“This team is always going to be the same as long as you’ve got Kirby Smart. It’ll be physical, tough, not beat yourself, run the football, and play aggressively.”
Georgia will need to make sure it doesn’t beat itself against a potentially generational player in LSU’s Harold Perkins.
As a defensive guy, Pollack couldn’t help but be impressed with the freshman’s body of work thus far.
“Defensively, you’re going to watch 40. Harold Perkins Jr. This dude is an absolute freakshow. The next whatever you want to call it. If you want to watch a guy and go, ‘That’s the next superstar of defense in College Football, Harold Perkins Jr. is that.”
Other stuff we talked about:
– LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is exciting. Pollack expects him to do everything he can to make plays and escape this Georgia defense. Of course, that depends on the prognosis of his lower leg injury.
– Ultimately, the Tigers’ offensive and defensive units are ‘good, but not great.’ They’re young on the offensive line. It’s going to be tough.
– How Pollack thinks Kirby Smart took a leg up on Nick Saban as it pertains to team-building in the NIL / Transfer Portal era.
– Why you have to screw up if you want to learn the best way to be a parent / why Pollack felt passionately about starting a podcast with his pastor.
All in all, a good convo with a Damn Good Dawg.
I didn’t give it all away here.
Hope you’ll watch the whole thing and hit subscribe for all of the other elite SEC Championship Game / CFB Playoff coverage we’ll have this week, and more than likely, beyond.
