USC’s Kiel Pollard loses weight to have bigger impact

By losing 12 pounds during the offseason, freshman tight end Kiel Pollard gained a leg up on the heavy competition at the position for the 2017 season.

“When I came in I was 245 pounds and now I’m 233 pounds, so that kind of helped me feel quicker and more explosive,” Pollard said. “I think it’ll help me feel better and practice faster and do what I was doing before I came here, which is catch balls.”

Pollard’s winter work caught the attention of coach Will Muschamp, who described the Moultrie, Ga., native’s offseason as “fantastic.”

“The big thing is he changed his body a little bit. He got in better shape. That was a struggle for him in the fall. I think he has improved his speed,” Muschamp said. “He consistently was really good in the offseason program.”

Pollard said he ran on the treadmill at 5:30 a.m. every morning and ate healthier foods to lose weight.

The 6-footer signed with the Gamecocks as a wide receiver and switched to tight end three weeks after entering the program in the summer. He said it was tough adjusting to a new position but he got help from the team’s leaders.

“It was a little different, blocking the bigger guys,” he said. “I just took some coaching from Hayden (Hurst) and the other guys. They tell me to just relax, just do what I did to get here, which is make plays.”

In the 2016 season, Pollard played in 12 games, mostly as a blocker on special teams. He made one reception for 18 yards in the Gamecocks’ home loss to Georgia on Oct. 9.

“That’s my home state, so I kept asking coach, ‘When am I getting my shot? When am I getting my shot?’ So he threw me into the game and when Perry (Orth) threw me the ball, I told myself I was not going to let them take it away from me.”

As a senior at Colquitt County High in 2015, Pollard compiled 1,163 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns. He was named the 6A Offensive Player of the Year in Georgia’s largest class, and helped lead his team to the state championships.

With all three of USC’s leading tight ends (Hurst, K.C. Crosby and Jacob August) returning for the 2017 season and tight end Kyle Markway being recovered from a foot injury, Pollard will have to set himself apart to get ample playing time.

“I think he’s a guy that we are going to rely on in the passing game and he’s a guy who can hold his own blocking,” Muschamp said. “We’ve got a lot of competition at that position.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "USC’s Kiel Pollard loses weight to have bigger impact."