As soon as Mike Macdonald and George Helow joined Michigan’s defensive staff, two names emerged right at the top of their recruiting board at Edge, both of them three-stars from Florida. The first, Mario Eugenio, committed last week. Today, Michigan secured the other one, as well as their sixteenth commit of the class, fourth linebacker of the summer, third edge prospect in three weeks, and second guy named M. Pollard since Wednesday.

Auburn thought they had this in the bag coming off their official visitation two weeks ago, when Pollard’s 4-star DE/DT cousin Caden Story said he and Pollard were likely to go to the same school. Pollard’s dad also grew up in Lanett, AL, near Auburn. But Michigan had their own bloodlines; Pollard is the nephew of Braylon Edwards, and the son of former Colts and Lions TE Marcus Pollard, who played with Harbaugh in Indy. Edwards was reportedly key in this recruitment, which I’m sure will be recognized by all the media shills who’ve been fanning “Braylon is feuding with Harbaugh” talk since the 2018 outburst.

This is also one of those recruitments that get the fans to hate us nearly as much as the more conservative elements of college football hate Harbaugh, because the rankings and program have such vastly different opinions. The rankings suggest the kind of guy Tom Allen usually pulls to Indiana, IE as far below the four stars as he is above the average MSU recruit. The offers are that plus Auburn. Meanwhile they’re popping champagne in Schembechler Hall over a recruitment that for Pollard’s future position coach dates back to Maryland. Agents Edwards and Ty Wheatley were dispatched to whisper sweet winged helmet nothings. The drift towards Auburn that the recruiting industry shrugged at set off a five-alarm fire on State Street. They did NOT want to lose this one.

What they've won is a pure edge; 247Sports’s Steve Lorenz called him “a perfect fit for the database shift” from their old DE/OLB/ILB categories to DL/Edge/LB. Apparently that has yet to reach the 247 scouts, who still have Pollard in the linebacker category:

GURU RATINGS

Rivals: 6-3/200	ESPN: 6-3/200	247: 6-3/200	247 Comp
3*, 5.7, NR Ovr #39 OLB, #64 FL	No rating	3*, 87, #577 Ovr #66 LB, #78 FL	3*, 0.8739, #551 Ovr, #57 LB, #78 FL
3.75* ⬆⬇⬆	NR ➡	3.67* ➡	3.74 ➡

Arrows show trend of recruiting rankings. An arrow is like a third of a star.

That works out to a 3.72* in my scale, right next to Kevonte Henry. The other edge guys in the 3.70 to 3.80 range were Glen Steele (3.80), Shantee Orr (3.72), Noah Furbush (3.71), Taylor Upshaw (3.70), and Charlie Stumb (3.70). From there it goes Kwity Paye (3.66), Josh Uche (3.61), Frank Clark (3.59), and Jake Ryan (3.59), so it’s not exactly unheard of for a guy with Pollard’s recruiting profile to blow up. None of those guys were 200 pounds, but Clark was 205, Uche was 212, and Pollard has another year of high school left. For what it’s worth his Twitter profile says 6-2.5/210.

Pollard is still mostly a blank to two of the sites. ESPN added a profile recently but not a ranking. 247 gave him the “87” last February and left him there. Rivals didn’t have him ranked until December, and it’s been a roller coaster since. He moved up from a 5.6 (medium 3-star) to a 5.7 (high 3-star) this summer.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

There is none of it from the scouting industry. Zilch. The only camp I think he attended was the one where Michigan spotted that Ocoee DT who committed to Tennessee, and no word came from that. He also runs track and played AAU basketball.

The afore mentioned Lorenz quote is almost certainly coming via the Michigan staff:

Michigan’s Plan: The staff views Pollard as a clear EDGE prospect and he is a perfect fit for the database shift at 247Sports. Someone who can get after the passer and can drop back in coverage as well. A classic linebacker size/speed with what I would say is a relatively advanced understanding of rushing the passer and using his hands on the edge. Brice once noted Pollard was the best player on the field when he played against former Michigan verbal and Maryland LB signee Branden Jennings.

Steve’s coworker Brice Marich was converted to Team Pollard when he went down to scout the guy Helow stole from Michigan at the end of last cycle:

Ironically, when I went to go down see him in person, that was not the kid I was going to go see... it was Branden Jennings from Sandalwood, the one-time Michigan commit who flipped to Maryland. And so, when I watched that game down in Jacksonville, Florida, the best linebacker on the field happened to be this kid named Micah Pollard. 6-3, 200-pounds, he can run sideline to sideline, he can stand up, he can put his hand on the ground, but preferably stands up. He was just a freak. And so afterwards I'm like, 'I've got to talk to this kid. I've got to see who he has got offers from and what he thinks about Michigan.'"

Mike Macdonald has very specific plans for Pollard, via Pollard, via Rivals's EJ Holland:

“He said he sees me playing all over the field,” Pollard said. “He said he can see me being a pass rusher but also someone that can cover and play in the box. We went on a Zoom, and he showed me how he would utilize my abilities. I play a mix at Bartram. If I were to go to Michigan, I would do the exact same thing. I like playing all over the field.”

Rutgers was looking at him for their “Buck” role that starts outside but often steps back and covers/blitzes an interior gap. We learned through Pollard’s recruitment that Michigan has a role with the same name($):

“They said I would play the Buck position there if I went to Michigan. It’s something I play right now with pass rushing and regular rushing, playing in the box and in coverage, so it’s just a mix of everything on defense.”

Also Pollard knew about Helow getting the Michigan job before Helow’s mom did($):

“It's amazing because we have a great relationship and him moving to my position group is even better,” Pollard told The Michigan Insider. “I was the first person he called to tell the good news.”

OFFERS

Morgan State (Tyrone Wheatley) was his first offer—Wheats worked with Marcus in Jacksonville after Michigan. The Power 5 offers, including Pitt and Virginia Tech, appeared in early November after tales of Pollard’s junior exploits hit the circuit. Louisville, Rutgers, and Kansas came in December, Arizona offered shortly after Don Brown arrived, with Michigan, Penn State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Iowa State, and Indiana, offering in January. Since then he picked up offers from South Carolina, Cincy, Navy, UCF, Kentucky, Auburn, and Ole Miss. Indiana made it to the final circle but this was clearly an Auburn-Michigan battle at the end.

HIGH SCHOOL AND FAMILY CONNECTIONS

Bartram Trail High School, located just south of Jacksonville near the east bank of the St. John’s river, is a major talent-producer in the area—as one might expect considering the Jags coaching staff’s kids are there. Their four-stars have all been quarterbacks, including Tennessee’s Nathan Peterman, Auburn’s Joey Gatewood, Boise State’s Riley Smith, and Clemson’s Kyle Parker (who switched to baseball), at least until 2023 cornerback Sharif Denson, who was recently offered by Ohio State. Other D-I bound Pollard teammates: 2022 Cincy DT commit Segree Graham, 2022 LB Dylan Chiedo, whom Helow was recruiting at Maryland, and 2022 Duke RB commit Eric Weatherly, who has a 2025 younger brother, Jaden, who scored six touchdowns in a middle school game last year.

The school is an elite public, ranked the #327 high school in the country by Newsweek in 2008, which was just eight years after it opened. The Patriots practiced there (and renovated the facilities) before Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005.

The Pollard family is like a pipeline of its own. Father Marcus was a college basketball convert who played tight end for the Colts in the nineties and early 2000s before a short stint in Detroit and other late career stops. After football he became the director of player development with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He and his wife Amani Pollard, who was a standout basketball guard for Farmington back in the day, were contestants in The Amazing Race in 2011, finishing third. Sister Aja Pollard is a standout 2023 basketball prospect. Older brother Myles (NTMP) and Micah played AAU basketball; youngest sister Ayris is a differently abled athlete.

The Pollard siblings are the niblings of Braylon Edwards through Micah's maternal grandfather/Braylon's stepdad Charles Plater. The Pollard tree also branches into the Story family via their paternal aunt Krisse, who’s married to Clifford Story Jr., the head coach and AD of Lanett High School. Lanett, where Marcus coached for a time after pro football, is in Alabama on the Georgia border, and produces its own fair amount of 3- and 4-stars. 2022 4* DE/DT prospect Caden Story isn’t a Michigan target, but he’s close to a top-150 candidate on 247 despite an offer sheet less impressive than his cousin’s. Caden is the younger brother of Alabama freshman safety Kristian Story, a 2020 four-star. They have no relation to Michigan’s last commitment, TN CB Myles Pollard.

STATS

MaxPreps reports 69 tackles, 27 TFLs, and 12 sacks and an INT. Pollard was second-team all-state. Apparently we don’t scout all-Florida’s second team anymore. He also blocked two field goals and a punt, and got in the backfield so fast on another the punter panicked and threw the ball away.

FAKE 40 TIME

None listed but he ran a 12.31 in the 100-meter. Ty Wheatley ran a 10.46, which gets zero fakes out of five because that actually happened. Those stories you hear about Tyrone Wheatley: they’re all true.

VIDEO

More video, including his sophomore highlights and single-game reels, can be found on his Hudl page.

ETC

Wants to work at Nike.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

The tape is 90 percent of what we have to go on, and the tape is mostly Pollard playing a Buck role where he isn’t blocked, or is blocked so badly you can forgive scouts for not wanting to translate it to college. He does all the Buck things well—zone coverage, explode off the line, bend, and menace anyone trying to use the backfield to get more breathing room. His long speed isn’t anything but the short-area burst makes him lethal as a backside pursuit man, and is more than enough for the high school backs he’s seen.

The package is very close to that of Frank Clark (minus the off-field warnings that drove down Clark’s rankings). If Michigan was running a 4-3 under still I’d put Pollard on the same track as Clark: on the field early as a SAM and slowly grown him into a hand-in-the-dirt pass rushing WDE. Since Michigan is going to a 3-4 setup, there’s less of a transition than that. His familiarity with the position, NFL dad, and experience in high-level Florida play should put him ahead of his classmates for the non-TE side (I see Eugenio as the strongside guy), though Michigan has a lot of young objects on the roster who could emerge first.

I’m a redshirt zealot but I might make an exception if they put this guy on special teams immediately. I didn’t even mention the play where the punter dropped the ball and Pollard, who was three yards behind the LOS, closed the distance so quickly the guy had no choice but to eat the loss.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Between the two Helow fave-raves and CA 3* late riser Kevonte Henry, Michigan now has three guys committed for their two OLB spots, but don’t seem to be letting up on another edge target that Helow/Macdonald covet, GA 3* Joshua Josephs, who was contemplating a second Michigan visit($, info in title) as of the beginning of the month. Auburn offered Josephs yesterday, about the same time the Pollard crystal balls and futurecasts started flipping to block M’s.

I’ve really liked the film of the guys the new staff has targeted. In addition to those guys Michigan lost Beau Atkinson, an Aidan Hutchinson-like athlete, to UNC, and let Winovichian 3-stars Anto Saka and Shakuan Bowser slip away to various purple Wildcats (Northwestern and KSU, respectively). Another target, DeMario Tolen, blew up and was about to commit to LSU last I looked.

The last guy I filed as an edge, TX 3* Joseph Adedire, recently committed to TCU—fellow Don Brownian anchor type Justice Finkley was apparently close to joining the class until Michigan’s in-person evaluation prompted a shift in their projection of Finkley to an inside tackle position.

I have LB targets Sebastian Cheeks, Lander Barton, Jeremy Patton, and recent camp offer Deuce Spurlock filed under ILB, though the athletic profile of the MIKE and WILL targets could translate to OLB and vice-versa. Patton and Cheeks are expected to announce decisions soon—Michigan is battling Texas for both, and both have the recruiting guys baffled heading into their upcoming decisions. Spurlock might be waiting to see what those guys do. Michigan will pursue Barton, the 4* Utah athlete they adore, to the whistle regardless.

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jayden Denegal	CA	4.1	Navarre or Speight
RB	CJ Stokes	SC	3.7	SC hesitated, Hart didn’t, Stokes doesn't.
WR	Tyler Morris	IL	4.5	Golden Tate smooth.
WR	Tay'shawn Trent	MI	4.0	Big, leapy. TE/LB?
TE	Colston Loveland	ID	3.8	Flex by own admission
TE	Marlin Klein	GA	3.7	Grow-a-dude
OT	Alessandro Lorenzetti	CT	3.7	Quebecois steal, if workouts are to be believed.
OG	Connor Jones	CO	3.5	Puts water in the harbor.
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Davonte Miles	MI	3.5	Big endy tackle like Ravens use
EDGE	Mario Eugenio	FL	4.0	Matt Judon 2.0
EDGE	Micah Pollard	FL	3.7	Braylon nephew, Marcus son, Frank Clark clone
EDGE	Kevonte Henry	CA	3.7	Uche edgebacker
LB	Aaron Alexander	MI	3.3	Raw hybrid from Belleville
CB	Will Johnson	MI	4.8	Everything and tall. Deon's kid.
CB	Kody Jones	TN	4.0	Nickel athlete, Walter Nolen's pal.
CB	Myles Pollard	TN	3.8	Stribling. Loved you on Colson’s film!

The board.