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South Carolina’s Pollard retires because of injury risk

Field Level Media

August 16, 2019 at 8:03 pm.

Tight end Kiel Pollard, a projected starter for South Carolina this season, announced his retirement from football on Friday.

Pollard broke a bone in his neck and would have been able to return this season, but when an MRI exam showed he had a condition that made it risky to play, he decided to end his career.

“Last week I did something that every football player knows not to do, I ducked my head while blocking,” Pollard wrote on Instagram. “As I waited on the exam table I thought everything was straight. To my surprise, after the MRI was completed and what felt like the longest 2 hours of my life, I was informed that I would be out for 4-6 weeks with a broken neck. I was perfectly fine with that.

“This week that changed when I found out that last Tuesday would be my last time playing football. Not that I’m not able, but that it’s not safe for me to do so.”

Pollard, a senior, had spent his first two seasons on special teams but got his chance as a tight end in 2018, catching 15 passes for 181 yards.

Pollard told South Carolina fans in his post that he still was looking forward to the future, even though he had hoped it would include more football

“Football has been good to me,” Pollard said. “Football has provided me with a great education in which I will be graduating in December this year! … One chapter ends and another begins!”

The Gamecocks also will be without tight end Evan Hinson for at least six weeks, who is being treated for an irregular heartbeat. The NCAA also has yet to rule whether tight end Nick Muse, a transfer from William & Mary, will be eligible to play immediately this season.

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