Norell Pollard

Senior defensive lineman for Virginia Tech. 2023: 4 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 23 tackles.

DL · Virginia Tech · Sr. · #3

6′0″ · 285 lb · Apopka, FL

CFB Index 46 · #234 of 418 edge rushersLow confidenceVirginia Tech 2023 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

DT recruit

No. 817 nationally · Signed with Wekiva

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman for Virginia Tech. 2023: 4 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 23 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Wekiva in 2019.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Five seasons at Virginia Tech, 12 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

201910 games

Recruited3-star out of Wekiva

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#817 national

CFB

College

Virginia Tech

2019–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2019–2023

3 coaches

2019–2020

Justin Fuente

Virginia Tech

2021

J.C. Price

Virginia Tech

era →

2022–2023

Brent Pry

Virginia Tech

era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Justin Fuente, J.C. Price, and Brent Pry. Multi-era developmental context.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019Virginia Tech8-5HC: Justin Fuente · Run-heavy

2020Virginia Tech5-6HC: Justin Fuente · Run-heavy

2021Virginia Tech6-7HC: J.C. Price · Run-heavy

2022Virginia Tech3-8HC: Brent Pry · Balanced

2023Virginia Tech7-6HC: Brent Pry · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

46Rotational starter #234 of 418?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (92nd percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (90th percentile). Concern: passes defended (19th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Sacks#202 / 2842 · 92nd pct

4.0

Tackles for loss#259 / 2842 · 90th pct

7.5

QB hurries#902 / 2842 · 58th pct

Tackles#1735 / 2842 · 38th pct

Solo tackles#2046 / 2842 · 25th pct

Passes defended#1751 / 2842 · 19th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	2.0	0.8	0.4	0.0
Road5g	2.6	0.7	0.4	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.7	0.4	0.2	0.0
Weeks 8+4g	1.8	1.2	0.8	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

James Franklin

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

46 · #234 of 418 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #234 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Virginia Tech	23	9	7.5	4.0	--	--	--
2022	Virginia Tech	15	4	3.0	1.5	1	--	--
2021	Virginia Tech	27	9	3.0	1.0	2	--	--
2020	Virginia Tech	28	13	4.5	2.5	--	--	--
2019	Virginia Tech	22	10	4.0	3.0	--	--	--
Career		115	45	22.0	12.0	3	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 18 · 2023

W 41–20

at Tulane

1 TOT

Dominant 21-point win on the road against Tulane.

With K. Drones — 91 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 96.9 · 176 rush yds (20 car) · 1 TD · B. Tuten — 136 rush yds (18 car) · 2 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 36-17vs Old Dominion	3	2	1.0	0.0	—
Wk 2	L 17-24vs Purdue	2	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 4	L 17-24@ Marshall	4	0	0.5	0.0	—
Wk 5	W 38-21vs Pittsburgh	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 17-39@ Florida State	5	1	1.0	1.0	—	Season-high 5 tackles
Wk 9	W 38-10vs Syracuse	1	1	1.0	1.0	—
Wk 11	W 48-22@ Boston College	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Wk 12	L 28-35vs NC State	3	3	2.0	1.0	—
Wk 13	W 55-17@ Virginia	2	2	2.0	1.0	—
Bowl	W 41-20@ Tulane	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Total		23	9	7.5	4.0	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Norell Pollard

201910 games

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

3-Tech Penetrator

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