Makai Polk

#10 · WR · Jr. · Mississippi State6′3″ · 200 lb · Richmond, CA

Makai Polk: WR · Mississippi State · #10.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Tru EdwardsLouisiana Tech · 2024 · 74% season match
KeDarius WadeLouisiana · 2026 · 73% season match
Xavier HutchinsonIowa State · 2021 · 62% season match
Rashee RiceSMU · 2021 · 58% season match
Drake LondonUSC · 2021 · 58% season match

Makai Polk

WR · Mississippi State · Jr · #10

Moves the chains on third down. Played for two head coaches across three seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 136 receiving yards and 11 receptions against Memphis — Week 3, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Mississippi State in the news

Kamario Taylor out for seasonOct 27
Students rally for Nolan WellsOct 21
Billy Puckett named QB1The Clarion-Ledger Oct 17

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Mississippi State	105	1,046	10.0	9	50
2020	California	17	183	10.8	1	52
2019	California	19	295	15.5	2	52
Career		141	1,524	10.8	12	52

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 35-34vs Louisiana Tech	10	57	5.7	0	10
Wk 2	W 24-10vs NC State	4	33	8.3	0	17
Wk 3	L 29-31@ Memphis	11	136	12.4	1	41	Season-high 136 yds
Wk 4	L 25-28vs LSU	8	78	9.8	1	29
Wk 5	W 26-22@ No. 15 Texas A&M	13	126	9.7	2	20	2 TD catches
Wk 7	L 9-49vs No. 5 Alabama	7	59	8.4	0	20
Wk 8	W 45-6@ Vanderbilt	5	63	12.6	2	31	2 TD catches
Wk 9	W 31-17vs No. 12 Kentucky	5	51	10.2	0	23
Wk 10	L 28-31@ Arkansas	8	117	14.6	0	42
Wk 11	W 43-34@ No. 16 Auburn	8	61	7.6	2	19	2 TD catches
Wk 12	W 55-10vs Tennessee State	9	110	12.2	1	50
Wk 13	L 21-31vs No. 8 Ole Miss	10	98	9.8	0	23
Total		98	989	10.1	9	50

Signature game

Week 5 · 2021

W 26-22

at Texas A&M

13 rec · 126 yds · 2 TD

A close one, won by 4 on the road.

With W. Rogers — 408 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 93.1 · A. Trafford — 40.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 3 · Memphis · 3rd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +4.14Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 41 yds to the Memph 32 for a
Week 12 · Tennessee State · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.84Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 50 yds for a TD (Nolan McCord KICK)
Week 10 · Arkansas · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +3.69Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 42 yds to the Ark 31 for a
Week 8 · Vanderbilt · 2nd and 11 · Q2 · EPA +3.51Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 31 yds for a TD (Brandon Ruiz KICK)
Week 4 · LSU · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +3.15Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 29 yds for a TD, (Nolan McCord KICK)
Week 3 · Memphis · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.01Rogers to Polk: a 36-yard pass.

4 more plays

Week 5 · Texas A&M · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.99Rogers to Polk: a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Week 7 · Alabama · 3rd and 11 · Q2 · EPA +2.86Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 12 yds to the MisSt 48 for a
Week 5 · Texas A&M · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.56Rogers to Polk: a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Week 8 · Vanderbilt · 1st and 9 · Q1 · EPA +2.42Will Rogers pass complete to Makai Polk for 9 yds for a TD, (Brandon Ruiz KICK)

Teams and coaches

2019California8-5HC: Justin Wilcox · Run-leaning

2020California1-3HC: Justin Wilcox · Balanced

2021Mississippi State7-6HC: Mike Leach · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 85 (#22 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

85All-Conference level #22 of 468 · 2021?

11 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (100th percentile). Strength: rec tds (94th percentile). Concern: explosive rate (21st percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#241 / 655 · 63rd pct

79.4%

TD rate#281 / 655 · 57th pct

6.9%

EPA / target#411 / 655 · 37th pct

0.55

Yards / catch#520 / 655 · 21st pct

10.0

Explosive rate#521 / 655 · 21st pct

7.6%

Box-score rates (6)

Receptions#2 / 557 · 100th pct

105

Rec TDs#28 / 557 · 94th pct

Rec yards#33 / 557 · 94th pct

1046

Long catch#257 / 557 · 53rd pct

Fumbles lost#89 / 223 · 36th pct

Yards / catch#489 / 557 · 12th pct

10.0

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	7.6	69.4	9.2	0.3
Road5g	9.0	101	11.4	1.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	8.8	81.5	9.1	0.7
Weeks 8+6g	7.5	83.3	11.2	0.8

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Mike Leach

Pass share

72.5%

702 pass / 266 run

Plays / game

80.7

12 games

Team sack rate

4.5%

751 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-heavy, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Impact starter

105 catches in 12 games, more catches a game than nearly every FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

85 · #22 of 468 WRs · 2021

Makai Polk

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Mississippi State in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Impact starter

Three seasons, two schools

Moves

2021 12 games