Offensive tackle Grant Polk estimates he missed a half of spring practice due to an illness, which ultimately led to him losing 30 pounds. Healthy and back to 300 pounds, the 6’6” true freshman took some time following Day 1 of Virginia’s preseason practice to discuss his experiences on Grounds so far.

Along with C.J. Stalker, Polk enrolled on Grounds in January of 2015 after graduating early from his high school. Polk attended Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, FL), where he earned AP first-team Class 7A all-state honors his senior season. A consensus 3-star recruit, Polk is one of four true freshmen offensive linemen on scholarship this season, joining fellow tackle Ryan Bischoff and center R.J. Procter.

Polk picked UVa over offers from Mississippi State and South Florida, among others, as well as interest from the University of Florida. Not bad considering he entered high school having never played football. Before high school, he was always too big to play Pop Warner. As a freshman he played on the JV before moving up to varsity at the end of the season. Polk played on the varsity level each of his past three years in high school.

“I’m glad I decided to focus on football,” Polk said in an article on TheSabre last fall. “It ended up working out great. I thought I was a baseball player when high school began. After my sophomore year of baseball and football, I had a lot better football season and so I focused on football. It was funny. My parents spoke with someone from MaxPreps, and he said I’d be crazy not to focus on football. That got everything rolling.”

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