Michigan Football: Why 2022 LB Micah Pollard should be a priority

Michigan football is switching to a new system and 2022 linebacker Micah Pollard would be a perfect fit for it. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the recruiting rankings, but one recruit that was recently offered by Michigan football is a guy fans should pay attention to, even though he’s just a three-star recruit.

People get worried way too much about three and four-star recruits and all that. Rankings matter, there is no denying that, however, there is a lot of time for things to change.

At any rate, when Michigan football brought in a new defensive staff and hired a new defensive coordinator in Mike Macdonald, they brought in a new scheme.

We don’t know about it other than it’s expected to be a multiple scheme featuring three and four-man fronts, as well as hybrid players who could play defensive line and linebacker.

That’s not unusual anymore but the Wolverines do need to start recruiting to that system. There are some current pieces that fit and freshman Junior Colson is one of them.

But in the recruiting class of 2022, one of the better fits that the new staff has offered is three-star linebacker Micah Pollard, out of Jacksonville, Florida.

Pollard was offered very quickly after the new staff was hired and he has received a bunch of new power-5 offers this month from schools such as Penn State, South Carolina, Iowa State, and Mississippi State among others.

And after you watch his highlights, it’s easy to see what he can do. During the 2020 season in Florida, he racked up 12 sacks and 27 tackles for loss, which is why Michigan football is recruiting him at the BUCK position according to Brice Marich of The Michigan Insider.

Here’s more from Marich on the recruitment of Pollard:

"“He told me that they like him at the ‘BUCK’ position, which is new terminology we haven’t heard in this new defense until about 3-4. But Mike MacDonald really likes him in the defense. Shaun Nua been on phone calls with him. And he’s a guy that just gets it. He gets Michigan. He gets he grew up with Maize & Blue in his blood.”"

Pollard is 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and a really explosive player off the edge. He’s ranked No. 626 overall in the 2022 class and 40th among outside linebackers, but he’s likely to get a boost in the rankings and he’d be a great fit for the new defense.