Lytrel Pollard was named Jones College's 17th head football coach on Dec. 11, 2024.
The 50-year-old Pollard has built a strong defensive coaching resume over the past 27 seasons, with experience at the FBS level and Mississippi junior college.
Pollard is 7-4 through his first 11 games leading Jones College, grabbing the first head coaching win of his career Oct. 24, 2024 over Southwest, 37-21, and is 2-0 against Pearl River.
Pollard has served as the Bobcats' defensive coordinator since 2019 and was an assistant coach until his promotion in 2024.
Pollard has produced an NJCAA Top 20 defense in five of his seven seasons as DC, including the NJCAA's 16th-best scoring defense last year and 12th in 2024. Jones boasted the nation's top scoring defense in his first season in 2019, allowing just 11.8 points per game and giving up just 261.2 yards per game.
Jones topped the nation in interception return yardage in 2021 and 2022. The Bobcats led the nation with 22 interceptions in 2021, returning four of them for touchdowns. Eleven different players had at least one interception, with West Virginia University signee Hershey McLaurin leading the way with five.
Fifty-seven defensive players have gone on to sign with senior colleges under Pollard, including 11 to Power 4 programs.
In 2018 as defensive coordinator at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the Bulldogs ranked second in the NJCAA in passing yards allowed, fourth in total points and fifth in points per game allowed. Eight of his players signed to play at the four-year level at season's end.
Prior to that, Pollard was at Southern Miss since 2013 where he served as defensive backs and running backs coach. It was his second coaching stint at his alma mater having previously been there from 1999-2007 when he oversaw special teams, defensive backs, linebackers and defensive ends.
During his time with the Golden Eagles, he coached linebacker Michael Boley, kick returner John Eubanks, defensive backs Brandon Sumrall, C.J. Bailey, Kalan Reed and Cornell Armstrong, all First-Team All-Conference USA honorees, as well as Ito Smith, the school's second-leading rusher of all time. Boley was a two-time All-American who won the Conerly Trophy, given to the best college player in Mississippi.
Pollard coached cornerbacks at Memphis in 2008-09 before going to Mississippi College to be the defensive coordinator. The Choctaws improved from ninth to fifth in the American Southwest Conference in total defense.
He was defensive coordinator at Tennessee-Martin in 2011, where his defense finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference. Before returning to USM, Pollard spent a year as cornerbacks coach at Marshall University.
Pollard played his college ball at USM, leading the Golden Eagles to back-to-back Conference USA titles. A four-year letterwinner and a two-year starter, Pollard had an outstanding career at linebacker with 274 total tackles despite being an overlooked player during his tenure. He was inducted into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame in the spring of 2022.
Pollard earned his undergraduate degree from Southern Miss in coaching and sport administration in the spring of 1998 and his master’s degree in the fall of 1999.
The Bay Springs product was a three-time state champion in both football and baseball at Stringer. He was an all-state performer his sophomore to senior seasons and invited to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game and baseball all-star game.
Pollard and his wife, Kristina, have two sons, Ty, and Klabron.
