By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com

In the most disappointing news from Thursday's pair of full team practices, the Kielbasa is off the grill.

A loyal reader (Paul Harman of Cary, NC) wrote in after our plea for nicknames and suggested that sophomore wide receiver Jarwarski Pollock be christened "Kielbasa." According to this particular reader, Pollock should be so deemed because of "his tasty moves."

It doesn't take long for word to travel fast around the Kenan Football Center, especially when it could potentially be embarrassing to a teammate. That's how Pollock came to learn of the nickname. He walked into a position meeting and was suddenly greeted with, "What's up, Kielbasa?" by the rest of his receiver teammates.

Alas, The Polish Sausage is not meant to be.

"I'm not Polish," he said with a laugh. As it turns out, Bradenton, Florida, where Pollock is from, is not, to be technical, located in central Europe. "I don't even know what a kielbasa is," Pollock said.

Neither did we, although the suspicion was that it must have been tasty, based on the nickname explanation. It turns out that it is a "spicy Polish sausage," so don't say you didn't learn anything on TarHeelBlue.com today.

But all this nickname research is for naught. Or rather, for Watt.

Pollock already has a nickname. He's known to most of his teammates as Watt, or Watt-P.

"It started out with Jarwarski, and then it got shortened to Warski, and then to Watt," he explained. "Then they added the 'P' for Watt-P."

Whatever you call him, the shifty receiver will play a big role for the 2002 Tar Heels. Sam Aiken and Chesley Borders are entrenched as the two starting wide receivers, but Carolina plans to offer plenty of multiple-receiver sets, which means Pollock should see plenty of action.

He also is electric returning punts, making him even more valuable to a squad that may depend on special teams to make some big plays.

"I see Jarwarski Pollock being in on third down and second down when Coach Tranquill goes to three wides," John Bunting said. "I expect him to be part of that package and we're in that package a lot. Tranq is a master of substitution and keeping people off balance with different personnel groups. Jarwarski will also start as our starting punt returner."

That's a significant load of expectations for a player who hasn't yet taken the field in a Division I game. But Pollock created the expectations last fall and this spring on the practice field, and then capped his spring with a six-reception, 100-yard performance in the spring game.

He stands just 5-foot-8, making him an inviting target for head-hunting defensive backs who think he is a candidate for a big hit. As Carolina's DB's have learned over the past year, however, trying to collect a big hit on Pollock usually results in grasping at air.

"That's always been my game," he says. "It can't help but be my game. I'm too small to run people over, so I have to be shifty and fast."

He'll be shifty, not tasty. He'll be Watt, not Kielbasa.

Notes: Carolina's Thursday morning practice was shorter than usual because the team went through intense conditioning in the early morning hours. Each member of the squad had to complete 16 110-yard sprints with a minimal amount of rest. "They are in great condition," Bunting said. "I was really pleased that a lot of the freshmen were able to hang in there."...In our daily QB Question-Meter, the head coach was asked three questions about the quarterback duel out of about a dozen queries from the media...In at least one aspect, it's good that Bunting is no longer an NFL coach. The Tar Heels could potentially have as many as three different kickers involved in the kicking game. "We couldn't carry that many guys in the NFL," Bunting said. "We may have one guy to kick off, one guy for field goals, and another guy to punt."

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com