Memphis' Pollard hopes to channel Bears' Miller on way to NFL
INDIANAPOLIS - The first thing Memphis RB Tony Pollard wanted to make clear: He's never going to be Anthony Miller, personality-wise.
"We're two different people when it comes to our confidence," Pollard said with a smile on Thursday at the NFL scouting combine.
But Pollard and his foburmer Memphis teammate and friend, Miller, now a budding star with the Bears, remain close - and Miller continues to rub off on Pollard now as he paves his own path to the league.
"I just like his style," Pollard said of Miller, whose college apartment was just above Pollard's during the 2017 season. "Just him believing in himself and him coming from nothing and where he is now. He believed in himself when nobody else did, and now that he's up there he still hasn't changed the way he's at."
As Pollard's role with the Tigers grew, Miller was making his way as a rookie with the Bears. The second-round pick - for whom Bears GM Ryan Pace gave up this year's second-rounder to draft in 2018 - had some stops and starts in his first season in Chicago, but he finished fifth on the team in receptions (33) and receiving yards (423) and led the club in TD catches (seven).
What struck Pollard at Memphis was what the Bears roundly praised Miller for: his work ethic.
"Even with him, his last season in Memphis, being projected as one of the best players in in the country, if you came around practice you would have thought he was a walk-on," Pollard said. "He practiced and just was the hardest-working player I have ever been around."
Of course, Miller amazingly was a walk-on there. And though Pollard was offered a scholarship out of high school out of the Memphis area by the Tigers, it was one of his few FBS options. He tried to soak up some of Miller's prove-it mentality while climbing the depth chart there and earning a role on offense and special teams.
Versatility and speed might be two of Pollard's best calling cards. He was a running back in a traditional sense, and he measured in at 5-foot-10 5/8 and 210 pounds. But the Tigers also used him as a receiver out of the backfield and split him out wide as a way to get him and teammate Darrell Henderson on the field together. Pollard ran for 552 yards and six touchdowns this past season and also caught 39 passes for 458 yards and three TDs. He said his best-ever 40-yard dash was 4.37 seconds.
Pollard also was Memphis' best returner by a mile, running back six career kickoffs for touchdowns, and he showcased good skills while performing on a number of the special-teams units.
"My whole career at Memphis, I've been doing special teams," he said. "Kick return, kickoff, punt, gunner, punt return, block kicks, blocking the gunners on punts. Running back who lines up in the slot. All just helps being able to do a lot of things."
Including a few things the Bears currently need. He has spoken to the team informally he said, and Henderson told media he did the same with the Bears as they seek to add more talent into the backfield and upgrade the return game. Pollard knows he could help fill both roles.
Asked how he'd fit in an offense such as the Bears', with running backs motioning out and lined up in multiple spots, Pollard said: "That's what I am looking for. It's really cheating honestly. Running with a linebacker, knowing you have the advantage speed-wise and skill set-wise. It's fun, but it's really cheating honestly."
Henderson is likely the most beloved prospect, having averaged a stunning 8.2 yards on his 432 college carries and 12.0 yards on his 63 receptions over the past three years. But if he is off the board when the Bears make their first selection at No. 87 overall, Pollard could be on their radar later in the draft. He's projected as a Day 3 pick, but the arrow has been pointing upward following a standout performance in Memphis' bowl game and Pollard's good showing at the Senior Bowl.
He warns that he's not the same personality as Miller, but Pollard wants to bring that same drive to whatever NFL team that drafts him. And if he's somehow reunited with his former Memphis teammate in Chicago?
"It would be almost a dream come true," Pollard said. "Him being from Memphis, playing again together … I know we would just click again instantly."
• Eric Edholm is a senior editor for Pro Football Weekly. For more on the NFL, visit profootballweekly.com and follow Eric on Twitter @Eric_Edholm or @PFWeekly.