Courtesy the Cincinnati Enquirer

(January 17, 20110 David Pollack has spent little time in Cincinnati since his football career ended prematurely. But on his last trip to the Queen City, he had an epiphany.

It was October; Pollack was driving across the Brent Spence Bridge. That's when the former Bengals first-round draft pick suddenly realized he would never play the game again. He was in town to broadcast a game between Syracuse and the University of Cincinnati. And when Paul Brown Stadium came into view, Pollack thought of his playing days and the injury that ended them.

"That was really the first time I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest," he said. "That was the first time I reflected back."

Pollack has had little time for reflection. He's too busy.

The former linebacker, who played just 16 games for the Bengals, returned home to Georgia. He hosts an afternoon drive sports talk show on 790-AM The Zone in Atlanta. He also works for ESPNU. At the age of 28, he's learning a new trade.

"It's been a fun transition; I've already learned a lot," he said. "It's like when you play as a freshman. You think you're doing fine, but then you look back and say, 'Man, I sucked.'

"But that's why you work hard, to improve. I've always been psychotic. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to kill it. I read about sports five or six hours a day. I want to be the best. I want to be informed. I don't want to be lazy. It's been fun, because it gives you that football fix."

Pollack's playing days ended on Sept. 17, 2006. That's when the second-year player cracked a bone in his neck while making a tackle against the Cleveland Browns.

He was fitted with a protective halo brace and underwent surgery. After a year and a half of rehab, he decided to retire.

"I gave myself every opportunity I could to come back," he said. "I got myself back in some really, really sick shape. What it boiled down to was that I was more likely to get injured than anybody else. I was incredibly blessed to walk away from it. Next time maybe I'm not as lucky. Still, it was tough to walk away."

Despite walking away with a reported $7.65 million in guaranteed money from the Bengals, Pollack got back to work.

He picked up the radio show, "Pollack and Bell," which he co-hosts with Mike Bell from 4 to 7 p.m. He then spent a year with CBS College Sports before signing on with ESPNU. He and former Georgia teammate David Greene formed a real estate investment firm. Pollack and his wife Lindsey have a 2-year-old son, Nicholas, and a 7-month-old daughter, Leah.

During his last trip to town, for the UC-Syracuse game, he met with former coaches and teammates at Paul Brown Stadium.

"It's tough, because you feel like you let them down," he said. "I signed up to play football and I didn't get to hold up my end of the bargain.

"... Sometimes I look at the games and say, 'I can still do that.' But I kind of disconnected myself and plugged into the new stuff I've been doing. It's been rewarding."

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