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Isaiah Pola-Mao NFL Draft Profile
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Isaiah Pola-Mao Scouting ReportPola-Mao flashes some attractive athletic traits. He has enough range to cover the deep third, moving fluidly in the open field and transitioning seamlessly out of his backpedal. The USC safety has demonstrated terrifying closing speed, barreling down on his target in the blink of an eye. When he arrives, he’s more than capable of laying the wood with hits that make you wince even watching them on a TV screen thousands of miles away. Although he isn’t super twitchy, he possesses enough change-of-direction ability to prove effective in man coverage. Meanwhile, his football intelligence ensures he reads and reacts well in zone coverage. Finally, as a team captain in 2020, Pola-Moa demonstrates leadership on the field. People who have been around him rave about his character and off-field leadership. His former assistant coach at Mountain Pointe, Aaron Frana, said this at the time of his commitment to USC: “He’s a high character guy. He leads on and off the field. All the other kids look up to him.” |
Areas for ImprovementAlthough there is a lot to love from Pola-Mao’s scouting report, there is room for improvement. Furthermore, there is reason to be cautious about the USC safety’s projection to the NFL level. While he possesses ridiculous size at 6’4″, he’s a little on the light side. If Pola-Mao is to be as physical at the NFL level as he has demonstrated at USC, he could seek to add more muscle mass. Thankfully, he has the frame to achieve this, although it would need to be without losing any athletic ability. Despite impressive reps of wrapping up as a tackler, there’s room for improvement here too. Pola-Mao can be overzealous in his approach, which can result in him whiffing on some tackles. He also needs to be mindful of taking the correct angles for the same reason. Although not an area for improvement, there could be a red flag from the NFL due to his injury history. Two shoulder surgeries in as many years are troubling when your game is predicated on smashing into your opponent shoulder first. |
Isaiah Pola-Mao Career at Southern CaliforniaWith his uncle’s history with the Trojans, there’s the assumption that there was an inevitability about Pola-Mao heading to USC. Despite this, he’d favored Arizona State before taking the final visit to Los Angeles that decided his destination. “When I was there, it just felt at home. I knew that was where I was supposed to be.” Although he felt at home, it was a difficult start to his USC career. During his commitment, Pola-Mao had talked about making an immediate impact on the program. He wanted to start as a freshman. However, shoulder surgery on an injury sustained during the 6A State Championship Game ruled him out for the entire season. Pola-Mao gave USC fans a glimpse of his game-wrecking talent on the opening day of the 2018 season. Making his debut against UNLV, Pola-Mao forced a fumble on the opening drive of the game. With 7 tackles and the forced fumble, he’d arrived. The joy, unfortunately, was short-lived. In the next game against Stanford, the USC safety dislocated his shoulder and was done for the year. |
Isaiah Pola-Mao NFL Draft Player ProfileIn a shortened redshirt junior campaign, Pola-Mao started all six games. The USC safety led the team in pass breakups, finished third with 40 tackles, and added another interception to his résumé. Meanwhile, he earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors from the Associated Press. Although he could have headed to the NFL Draft at the end of the season with compatriots Talanoa Hufanga and Olaijah Griffin in the secondary, the USC safety opted to return to The Coliseum for his redshirt senior season. However, a pivotal season for Pola-Mao’s NFL Draft stock has been as turbulent as the program he plays for, missing the season opener due to health and safety protocols. Nevertheless, Pola-Mao is one of the top players at his position in the 2022 NFL Draft class. Although he won’t be a first-round selection like his Uncle Troy, a solid season could see him land as high as Day 2.
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