Kickoff countdown: Who wore it best? #47

UGASports is counting down the days until the Bulldogs’ 2024 season opener. For each day in our countdown, we will reveal our opinion of the best player in Georgia history to wear that particular jersey number.

UGASports selects David Pollack as the best Georgia player to wear jersey number 47.

Position: Defensive Lineman

Hometown: Snellville, Georgia (Shiloh HS)

Height/Weight: 6-3, 261

Lettered: 2001-2004

Stats: 283 tackles, 36 sacks, 22.5 other tackles for loss, 18 passes broken up, 4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 blocked kicks, and 117 quarterback pressures in 50 games/44 starts (40 at defensive end, 4 at defensive tackle) in four seasons.

Career: A mere two-star fullback-turned-three-star defensive lineman out of Shiloh High School in Snellville, David Pollack ultimately became—and remains—UGA’s most decorated defensive player of all time. As a true freshman, Pollack started the final four games of the regular season at defensive tackle before moving to defensive end, where he never missed a start for the next three seasons. An SEC All-Freshman Team honoree in 2001, he earned first-team All-American recognition as a sophomore while becoming the first defensive player in 14 years to be selected as SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. As a senior in 2004, Pollack was named the AP’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, awarded the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end for the second time, the Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman, and the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player. To date, along with Herschel Walker and Brock Bowers, he is one of just three Georgia players in history to be recognized as a first-team All-American in three seasons. Despite Pollack’s UGA career having ended 20 years ago, his 36 sacks, 58.5 total tackles for loss, 3 blocked punts, and 117 quarterback pressures (unofficial) all remain school career records. Selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the opening round, Pollack was the No. 17 overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft.

#47 Honorable Mention: RB/CB- Robert Edwards (1993-1997); LB- Nate Taylor (1979-1982); LB- Jim Griffith (1975-1977)