That Georgia’s David Pollack was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta was no surprise. How he found out was, though.
A three-time All-American defensive end and current Athens resident, Pollack was on the air doing a live shot Wednesday for his regular weekly appearance on ESPN from Georgia’s indoor football facility when he was informed by Rece Davis he had been elected into the National Football Foundation’s 2020 Hall of Fame class.
“Man, y’all are sneaky,” said Pollack, who was still processing the news while Davis recited Pollack’s accomplishments at UGA. “Bringing in R.D., making an announcement. I hear y'all!”
Pollack’s parents, Kelli and Norm Pollack, wife Lindsey and children Nicholas and Leah then surprised him by running onto the set to offer congratulations and hugs.
“Oh, wow, you’ve got my family here and everything,” Pollack gasped.
Pollack is the 19th former Bulldogs player or coach elected to the Hall of Fame. Since retiring from the NFL, he has been on the national stage as one of the hosts of the ESPN signature college football show, “College Gameday.”
NFF chairman and 1989 inductee Archie Manning made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.
Pollack could not immediately be reached for comment, but his former coach was beaming.
“I don’t know about the timing on that particular award, but you’d think he’d be a first-ballot guy,” said Mark Richt, who coached Pollack at UGA. “I don’t know how long you have to be out before they consider you. By the time he was done (at Georgia) it was obvious, being a three-time All-American and all the awards he won. He led the nation in sacks. You can’t do much more as a defensive player. So I wasn’t shocked at all; I’d have been shocked if he didn’t get inducted.”
Indeed, Pollack won some of the more prestigious awards in college football, including the 2004 Rotary Lombardi Award (nation’s outstanding lineman), 2004 Chuck Bednarik Award (nation's outstanding defensive player), 2004 Ronnie Lott Trophy (defensive IMPACT Player of the Year), and the 2003 and 2004 Ted Hendricks Award (nation's outstanding defensive end). He also was a finalist for the 2002 and 2004 Bronko Nagurski Award.
Pollack was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004 by the Associated Press and the SEC Coaches. He was the Associated Press Player of the Year in ’02. Pollack was a consensus All-SEC performer three consecutive years (2002-04). His 14 sacks in 2002 set a Georgia single-season record. During his career he also started 45 consecutive games and was named the MVP of the 2005 Outback Bowl after recording three QB sacks, three tackles-for-loss, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble, and one deflected pass.
The 2020 class will be officially inducted during the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the New York Hilton Midtown.
2020 College Hall of Fame class
Players: Lomas Brown, OT, Florida (1981-84); Keith Byars, RB, Ohio State (1982-85); Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska (1998-2001); Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU (1979-82); Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU (2004-07); Jumbo Elliott, OT, Michigan (1984-87); Jason Hanson, PK, Washington State (1988-91); E.J. Henderson, LB, Maryland (1999-2002); E.J. Junior, DE, Alabama (1977-80); Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State (1991-94); Cade McNown, QB, UCLA (1995-98); Leslie O'Neal, DT, Oklahoma State (1982-85); Anthony Poindexter, DB, Virginia (1995-98); David Pollack, DE, Georgia (2001-04); Bob Stein, DE, Minnesota (1966-68); Michael Westbrook, WR, Colorado (1991-94); Elmo Wright, WR, Houston (1968-70).
Coaches: Dick Sheridan, Furman (1978-85), North Carolina State (1986-92); and Andy Talley, St. Lawrence, N.Y. (1979-83), Villanova (1985-2016).
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