Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
Polk Thriving In First Season At State
September 21, 2021 | Football
STARKVILLE – When Mike Leach was still the head coach at Washington State, he tried to talk Makai Polk into playing for him in Pullman.
Leach's recruiting pitch was informing Polk just how many passes would get thrown his way as a wide receiver in the Air Raid offense.
Polk, however, chose to stay home to play for the University of California and even led the Golden Bears with 71 yards receiving and a touchdown against Leach's Cougars as a true freshman in 2019. But after nine starts in 16 career games at Cal, Polk entered the transfer portal and this time the roles were reversed.
"We recruited him at Washington State, we just didn't get him," Leach said. "And then he recruited us at Mississippi State. It's kind of funny. We said, 'Well, you'll catch a lot more balls at Washington State.' And then we go to Mississippi State and he goes, 'Yeah, I want to catch a lot more balls.' So he came here, so it was a good deal."
Getting a shot to go through the recruiting process for a second time, Polk took a different approach than he did when he had double digit offers coming out of El Cerrito High School. He also remembered what Leach told him about the Air Raid offense during his initial recruitment as well.
"It was the Air Raid and knowing that I'd get a chance to get the ball a lot," Polk said of why he chose MSU. "I wasn't solely looking to go to an Air Raid offense, but I wanted to go somewhere that the competition was high and I could see myself thriving at and this was the place."
And thrive he has. Through only three games as a Bulldog, Polk has hauled in 25 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and currently leads the Southeastern Conference with 8.3 receptions per game.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder caught 10 passes in the season opener against Louisiana Tech and topped the Bulldogs with a career-best 11 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown last weekend at Memphis. His 41-yard catch against the Tigers is MSU's longest offensive play in 2021 and his 36-yard TD grab gave his team a chance to tie the game with 1:32 remaining.
"He is dynamic and he does play the ball in the air well," Leach said. "He's a skilled guy. I think he's really done quite a lot as far and put good stuff on film that we can use to illustrate examples for our other players."
Polk is on pace to shatter his career numbers from Cal, where he caught 36 passes for 478 yards and three touchdowns across two seasons in Berkeley.
"Makai is a good player and can play in any offense," said MSU outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. "He's got savvy and good knowledge of the game. He's got good hands and experience and has played the game. You can't beat that and can't replicate that. He's a good player and knows how to get open. He's tough and the type of guy that you like. We're real happy we've got Makai here."
Polk arrived at Mississippi State in January with three years of eligibility remaining. Enrolling early allowed him to go through the spring and summer in Starkville helped him adapt to his new surroundings as well as a new culture.
Although his grandparents are originally from Greenwood, the only time he'd ever spent in the Magnolia State was when Cal played at Ole Miss during his freshman year.
"Being in the city of Starkville is much different than where I'm from in California," Polk said. "I'm used to tall, 15-20 story buildings since I'm from the city. Here there's just 2-3 story buildings and a lot of woods and grass. I'm not really used to that but I like it."
Polk will have his first true SEC game this weekend when the Bulldogs host LSU on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. The Tigers are known for producing their share of NFL talent in the secondary and currently have one of the top cornerbacks in the country in Derek Stingley Jr.
"I'm looking forward to playing LSU a lot and getting a chance to go against those guys," Polk said. "I know how highly-praised their DB's are and it's a chance to showcase myself and everyone else too. It's a big opportunity."
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Leach's recruiting pitch was informing Polk just how many passes would get thrown his way as a wide receiver in the Air Raid offense.
Polk, however, chose to stay home to play for the University of California and even led the Golden Bears with 71 yards receiving and a touchdown against Leach's Cougars as a true freshman in 2019. But after nine starts in 16 career games at Cal, Polk entered the transfer portal and this time the roles were reversed.
"We recruited him at Washington State, we just didn't get him," Leach said. "And then he recruited us at Mississippi State. It's kind of funny. We said, 'Well, you'll catch a lot more balls at Washington State.' And then we go to Mississippi State and he goes, 'Yeah, I want to catch a lot more balls.' So he came here, so it was a good deal."
Getting a shot to go through the recruiting process for a second time, Polk took a different approach than he did when he had double digit offers coming out of El Cerrito High School. He also remembered what Leach told him about the Air Raid offense during his initial recruitment as well.
"It was the Air Raid and knowing that I'd get a chance to get the ball a lot," Polk said of why he chose MSU. "I wasn't solely looking to go to an Air Raid offense, but I wanted to go somewhere that the competition was high and I could see myself thriving at and this was the place."
And thrive he has. Through only three games as a Bulldog, Polk has hauled in 25 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown and currently leads the Southeastern Conference with 8.3 receptions per game.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder caught 10 passes in the season opener against Louisiana Tech and topped the Bulldogs with a career-best 11 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown last weekend at Memphis. His 41-yard catch against the Tigers is MSU's longest offensive play in 2021 and his 36-yard TD grab gave his team a chance to tie the game with 1:32 remaining.
"He is dynamic and he does play the ball in the air well," Leach said. "He's a skilled guy. I think he's really done quite a lot as far and put good stuff on film that we can use to illustrate examples for our other players."
Polk is on pace to shatter his career numbers from Cal, where he caught 36 passes for 478 yards and three touchdowns across two seasons in Berkeley.
"Makai is a good player and can play in any offense," said MSU outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. "He's got savvy and good knowledge of the game. He's got good hands and experience and has played the game. You can't beat that and can't replicate that. He's a good player and knows how to get open. He's tough and the type of guy that you like. We're real happy we've got Makai here."
Polk arrived at Mississippi State in January with three years of eligibility remaining. Enrolling early allowed him to go through the spring and summer in Starkville helped him adapt to his new surroundings as well as a new culture.
Although his grandparents are originally from Greenwood, the only time he'd ever spent in the Magnolia State was when Cal played at Ole Miss during his freshman year.
"Being in the city of Starkville is much different than where I'm from in California," Polk said. "I'm used to tall, 15-20 story buildings since I'm from the city. Here there's just 2-3 story buildings and a lot of woods and grass. I'm not really used to that but I like it."
Polk will have his first true SEC game this weekend when the Bulldogs host LSU on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. The Tigers are known for producing their share of NFL talent in the secondary and currently have one of the top cornerbacks in the country in Derek Stingley Jr.
"I'm looking forward to playing LSU a lot and getting a chance to go against those guys," Polk said. "I know how highly-praised their DB's are and it's a chance to showcase myself and everyone else too. It's a big opportunity."
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Players Mentioned
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