Last year, this Gamecock was frustrated. Now he’s a projected starter

A season ago at this time, Kiel Pollard was frustrated to say the least.

He’d come to South Carolina as one of the more promising prospects in Will Muschamp’s first recruiting class. He’d changed positions and played in 25 games in two years, but mostly a special teamer. He was buried on the tight end depth chart and had all of two catches.

But he persevered. Now he enters next season with a different term attached to his name: presumptive starter.

“It’s unbelievable that these four years are almost gone,” Pollard said. “I’m excited for a new year.”

Through last season, Pollard became South Carolina’s No. 3 tight end, backing up and rotating with K.C. Crosby at the team’s more versatile slot position. He caught 15 passes for 181 yards, more than Crosby in both categories.

And now Crosby, along with top blocking tight end Jacob August, has moved on.

There’s potential for a seamless transition as Pollard’s skills match Crosby’s, while veteran Kyle Markway’s fit well into August’s role. And a year after wondering where his career was going, Pollard is suddenly the old guy in the room.

“It’s different because I have freshmen coming in, looking up to me and Markway,” Pollard said. “We’ve just got to be an example.”

Pollard came to USC after flipping from Arkansas. He was considered one of the top high school playmakers in Georgia, but as a shorter, stouter receiver was used both there and at running back.

The Gamecocks staff moved him to tight end quickly, where he had to learn the finer points of blocking and trade bad weight for good (he’s listed at 235 pounds at the moment). His skills quickly became a key part of the Gamecocks’ special teams.

In some ways, he’s following Crosby, who was a bit of a ‘tweener and saw a limited role his first two seasons. Crosby ended up being forced into a starting role because of catastrophic depth issues in Will Muschamp’s first season.

Now Pollard is taking a lesson from the departed veteran into his last campaign.

“Being coachable and a guy that they asked him to do a lot and he did whatever they asked him to do,” Pollard said. “That helped me.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 2:08 PM.