'09 CA CB Marlon Pollard (UCLA Verbal)

[BGIF]

From the UCLA Media Guide

From the UCLA Media Guide

Player Bio: Marlon Pollard - UCLA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

UCLA - Marlon was a solid performer in practices and on the scout team a year ago, catching the eye of the coaching staff ... Benefitted from his first Spring Practice, but missed part of the session with a strained hamstring.

2009 - Did not see game action in his first season in the program and has four seasons of eligibility remaining.

HIGH SCHOOL - Lettered his senior season at Cajon HS and played for coach Kim Battin ... Attended Valencia (CA) HS his first three years and played two varsity seasons for coach Larry Muir ... PrepStar All-America selection (No. 93 prospect) ... Rated No. 6 cornerback nationally by Tom Lemming ... Rated No. 2 corner in the West by scout.com ... Ranked No. 14 corner nationally and No. 5 athlete among corners by rivals.com ... Rated No. 19 cornerback by scout.com ... Ranked No. 25 corner by ESPNU ... Rated No. 16 California prospect by rivals.com ... Member of scout.com California 101 (No. 31) and West Hot 150 (No. 43) ... SuperPrep All-Far West No. 49 prospect ... Earned four stars from scout.com and rivals.com ... Ranked No. 150 national prospect by rivals.com and No. 190 by scout.com ... Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 ... Named All-State Division I first team by MaxPreps ... CIF-Southern Section Central Division first team ... Named to Golden State Preps.com All-State second team and All-Southern California first team ... CalHiSports.com All-State third team ... NFF County Defensive Back of the Year ... Made 71 tackles and seven interceptions as a senior ... On offense, he had 29 receptions for 510 yards and five touchdowns ... As a junior, he recorded 75 tackles, four interceptions, five blocked kicks and three touchdowns ... As a sophomore, he made 60 tackles and three interceptions; blocked three kicks and scored three touchdowns ... Named all-league and all-city for three seasons ... Earned Scholar-Athlete award in 2006, 2007, 2008 ... Served as team captain as a senior ... Lettered two years in track and field.

PERSONAL - Full Name: Marlon Aurelius Pollard, Jr. ... Born: September 26, 1991 in Pomona, CA ... Parents: Rachael Pollard and Marlon Pollard, Sr. ... Has two sisters, Vanessa and Lanecia ... Raised by his mom ... Lists Kobe Bryant and NFL standouts Devon Hester, Brett Favre and Randy Moss as the athletes he admires the most ... Hobbies include playing basketball ... Has a career interest in research and innovation of medical technology for sports ... Director's Honor Roll in Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010 ... Undeclared major.

 

[IrishLax]

I don't recall if Kelly recruited or any of his assistants recruited him previously. So Dave Peloquin is probably the only one on the football staff he's ever dealt with. I'm not positive but believe Pollard would have to pay his own way while sitting out the NCAA mandated year. The Pollard family may not have $50K in the family budget to underwrite that luxury. Then again he may have decomitted from ND when he learned about midwest winters. That hasn't changed.

I'm not sure if that is necessarily true. I don't know NCAA football regulations that well, but for most sports you can be signed to an athletic scholarship even if suspended from the team or otherwise not playing (with exceptions). For instance, I knew someone had a career ending injury before the start of their senior season and ND didn't pull their scholarship even though they weren't going to be on the roster.

There is also a great loophole with financial aid.... most non-football/basketball athletes only have partial scholarships in their first year or so on campus. My roommate freshman year was going to come in on half-scholarship for soccer but they decided to give him a bigger financial aid package than the scholarship so he could take that and they could use the half-scholarship somewhere else.

Long story short: I think if he wants to come and the coaches want him ND could find a way to make his financial situation work. But all of those are far from a guarantee.

 

[military_irish]

Primarily because most transfers didn't have the academic wherewithal to pass ND Admissions in the first place and many of the rest went somewhere were academics were not encouraged (see Harbaugh comments about UM). Bemenderfer was one of those that successfully transferred into ND.

Pollard had a 3.5 GPA in HS and was accepted by ND Admissions. I don't know what courses he took at UCLA but the UCLA Media Guide notes he made the Honor Roll in Fall '09, Winter '10, and Spring '10. I'll hazard a guess he's admissable.





Pollard was a redshirt at UCLA in '09. and would have to sit out of football for a year per NCAA which would leave him 3 years of eligibility. NCAA allows 5 to play 4. Actually sitting out a year might sit well with ND Admissions so he could focus on academcs.

As for a taking a 20 year old man with 2 years of college conditioning, 2 years of college competition (even if it's only scout team) and more years of maturity and comparing him to a incoming freshman 30 days out of his high school, bornready85 nailed it. It's not a redshirt freshman versus a freshman it's a two year difference. And it's not 2 years away from a football training and academics. Thinking they are the same and that many freshman beat out seniors indicates you may have spent too many days on the grenade range without a helmet.

The physical growth, man v. boy, is why so many programs jump at the chance to take JUCOs. It's a plug in player rather than a see ya next year developmental player.

Pollard may not be considering ND, I have no idea. Pollard was a 4 star CB and ND was happy to get his verbal at the time. Considering the dearth of CBs I'd expect they'd be interested.

The question is, is Pollard?

I don't recall if Kelly recruited or any of his assistants recruited him previously. So Dave Peloquin is probably the only one on the football staff he's ever dealt with. I'm not positive but believe Pollard would have to pay his own way while sitting out the NCAA mandated year. The Pollard family may not have $50K in the family budget to underwrite that luxury. Then again he may have decomitted from ND when he learned about midwest winters. That hasn't changed.

I'm not saying don't take him if he wants to transfer to ND, but to say he is automatically better than any freshmen just because he has been on a college team for one year, is far from the truth.

My main thing is, is he has accomplished the exact same as a high school senior, and to say he performed well in practice really doesn't say much. Because i remember hearing that alot last year and years before about different individuals, but it never translated to gameday.

 

[BGIF]

I'm not sure if that is necessarily true. ...

Which is probably why I used the words "I'm not positive but believe ..."

I don't know NCAA football regulations that well, ...

but that has never stopped you from interjecting irrelevant anecdotes, has it?

... but for most sports you can be signed to an athletic scholarship even if suspended from the team or otherwise not playing (with exceptions). For instance, I knew someone had a career ending injury before the start of their senior season and ND didn't pull their scholarship even though they weren't going to be on the roster. ...

"Most sports" aren't NCAA football. Almost every year it seems a football player gets suspended or is diagnosed with a career ending injury. Suspensions come under university discipline within the term of a one year scholarship. Those with career ending injuries can stay on scholarship but NOT an NCAA sanctioned athletic scholarship. Football is allowed a maximum of 85 football scholarships. As far back as I can recall ND has even honored scholarships for football players who signed an LOI and then sustained a career ending injury.

But neither a suspension nor a career ending injury are germaine to Pollard's situation, are they? He's transferring and the NCAA has rules for football scholarships that deal with that.

There is also a great loophole with financial aid.... most non-football/basketball athletes only have partial scholarships in their first year or so on campus. My roommate freshman year was going to come in on half-scholarship for soccer but they decided to give him a bigger financial aid package than the scholarship so he could take that and they could use the half-scholarship somewhere else. ...

Another anecdote not germaine to this situation. NCAA Div 1 football doesn't have partial scholarships. Under the football rules a grant in aid to one athlete to allow a scholarship to another is a violation. Under football rules once a prospect is contacted (and that includes an introductory form letter) the prospect becomes a recruit and subject to NCAA recruiting regulations. The rules for FOOTBALL recruits and student athletes can be read at the NCAA website.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Pollard is transfering from UCLA. Can't say I'm surprised.

The Daily Bruin | Redshirt freshman cornerback Marlon Pollard to transfer from UCLA

What I heard from a couple h.s. coaches out here a couple of years ago (a few months after signing day) was that Pollard really wanted to go to ND and that's why he originally decommited from UCLA, but there was a lot of family pressure on him to stay close to home and in the end he decided to go to UCLA. This is 3rd hand info so take it for what it's worth.

So this transfer news didn't really surprise me. It's why when I hear parents are pressuring their kids to choose ND but it's obvious that the kid wants nothing to do with ND, that I'd prefer the kid not come to ND unless he really wants to. It just begs for an unhappy kid and an eventual transfer. ND isn't for everyone. And I guess UCLA wasn't for Pollard...

 

[BGIF]

I'm not saying don't take him if he wants to transfer to ND, but to say he is automatically better than any freshmen just because he has been on a college team for one year, is far from the truth.

My main thing is, is he has accomplished the exact same as a high school senior, and to say he performed well in practice really doesn't say much. Because i remember hearing that alot last year and years before about different individuals, but it never translated to gameday.

Who said he was "automatically better"?

bornready85 didn't.

 

[military_irish]

Who said he was "automatically better"?

bornready85 didn't.

maybe wrong choice of words, but as you stated.

As for a taking a 20 year old man with 2 years of college conditioning, 2 years of college competition (even if it's only scout team) and more years of maturity and comparing him to a incoming freshman 30 days out of his high school, bornready85 nailed it. It's not a redshirt freshman versus a freshman it's a two year difference. And it's not 2 years away from a football training and academics. Thinking they are the same and that many freshman beat out seniors indicates you may have spent too many days on the grenade range without a helmet.

if thats not saying that a redshirt freshmen or upper classmen is better than an incoming freshmen, then i don't know how much clearer it could be.

maybe i have been around too many explosions