Michael David Pollak (born February 16, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who played seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Early years

Pollak graduated

Corona del Sol High School Corona del Sol High School is located in Tempe, Arizona, United States. It was established in 1977 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. History The local architecture firm of Michael & Kemper Goodwin Ltd. was hired to design ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, in 2003. While at Corona del Sol he played

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

and defensive tackle, and was regarded as a three-star recruit by ''

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''. He received many honors including All-Region honors from Prep Star, first-team All-Arizona by

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

and first-team All-City and All-Conference recognition as a senior. Pollak also was a star

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

receiving first-team All-Region, All-East Valley, and All-Conference.

College career

Pollak attended

from 2003-2007. Pollak was a starter at center during his

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and senior year. In 2006, he received All- Pac-10 Conference second-team and in 2007 he received first-team All-Pac-10 Conference honors. During his senior year, he was a finalist for the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College ...

, which is awarded to the nations top center. In 2007, he received the Tim Landers Iron Man Award, Cecil Bono Team Captain Award, and

Pat Tillman Patrick Daniel Tillman Jr. (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) who left his sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002 in the afterma ...

Award, all awards given out by the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Pollak was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The Colts moved Pollak to

and as a rookie he started 13 of 13 games. In 2009, Pollak entered as the starter at right guard.

Carolina Panthers

Pollak signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

on March 22, 2012.

Cincinnati Bengals

Pollak signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 12, 2013. On March 7, 2014, Pollak re-signed with the Bengals on a three-year contract. The Bengals released him on February 20, 2015.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioCarolina Panthers bioIndianapolis Colts bioArizona State Sun Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollak, Mike 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Tempe, Arizona Players of American football from Maricopa County, Arizona American football centers American football offensive guards Arizona State Sun Devils football players Carolina Panthers players Cincinnati Bengals players Indianapolis Colts players