Pola-Mao described last Tuesday as a “stressful day” waiting to find out if he was going to make the team. After realizing he made the initial roster, he joyfully called his immediate family to let them know the good news. He didn’t have to search too far to find one family member in particular, Kennedy Polamalu – his great-uncle and the Raiders’ running backs coach.
He said there’s been minimal interactions with his uncle in the building, considering they’re on opposite sides of the ball. Nevertheless, he’s kept his advice to “do the extra stuff” in his ear throughout Training Camp, which propelled his game. He finished the preseason with 10 total tackles, and is primed to be a big part of the special teams unit as as rookie.
Head Coach Josh McDaniels has been clear throughout Training Camp of intentions to utilize his best players, regardless of how they came to be part of the unit. Pola-Mao was one of four undrafted rookies that made the team’s initial 53-man roster, the first time any UDFA has made it since 2019. While it’s a great early feat in his NFL career, the rookie safety is staying grounded and focusing on the tasks ahead of him.
“I already felt in my heart that I belonged,” Pola-Mao said. “And after that, you just have to have that mentality of every day, you have to keep stacking it up. … We play in a dog-eat-dog world [in] this game. I’ve just got to keep coming in every day, clocking it in and go to work.”
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