Polk attended Guilford High School in Rockford, Illinois, where he was a standout linebacker for the Vikings football team. As a senior, he recorded 152 tackles, 13 quarterback sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 3 blocked kicks and one interception. He finished as one of the all-time leading tacklers in the state of Illinois high school history, with 453 career tackles, while also tallying 10 fumble recoveries, 7 blocked kicks, 5 interceptions and 30 tackles for loss. He received All-conference, All-state, USA Today All-American and Northern Illinois Conference-9 Defensive Player of Year honors. He also practiced basketball.
College career
Polk accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nebraska. As a redshirt freshman, he was a part of a team that won the 1997 National Championship. He appeared in 12 games, posting 32 tackles and one sack. As a sophomore, he appeared all 13 games, making 22 tackles, one pass defensed, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception. As a junior, he became a starter at middle linebacker, registering 83 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hurries. As a senior, he led the team with 90 tackles, while making 9 tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hurries, one interception and 5 passes defensed. He finished his college career with 227 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. In 2010, he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Pre-Draft
San Diego Chargers
Polk was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played 6 games on special teams, finishing with 4 tackles after being placed on the injured reserve list with a torn rotator cuff injury on November 14. In 2002, he was voted by teammates as the Chargers Special TeamsPlayer of the Year , after leading the team with 13 tackles. He also registered his first-career safety and first-career blocked kick. In 2003, he was voted as the Chargers co-Special Teams Player of Year, after tying for the team lead with 16 tackles. In 2004, he was declared inactive in the first game with a shoulder injury, he played in the second game against the New York Jets, only to be placed on the injured reserve list with a dislocated left shoulder on September 21. In 2005, he suffered an Achilles injury in the final off-season coaching session and was placed on the injured reserve list on July 28. In 2006, he filled-in for a suspended Shawne Merriman in the first 4 games of the season. He went on to enjoy his best professional season, posting 32 defensive tackles, 2 sacks and 19 special teams tackles and received the team's Ed Block Courage Award. In 2007, he started two games at inside linebacker in place of an injured Matt Wilhelm. On November 20, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a left shoulder injury he sustained in the November 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, at the time he was leading the team with 11 special teams tackles. At the end of the year, he shared the team's Most Inspirational Player Award with Philip Rivers. Polk was released on August 30, 2008.
Dallas Cowboys
On October 16, 2008, Polk was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, reuniting with head coach Wade Phillips, who was his defensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers. He was signed for depth purposes after special teams player Sam Hurd was lost for the year with a high left-ankle sprain injury and Kevin Burnett was limited with a calf injury. He finished with 10 special teams tackles, one forced fumble and one blocked punt. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.
Personal life
In 2009, he was the special teams coach at Grossmont College. From 2010 to 2012, he was a special teams assistant for the San Diego Chargers. In 2013, he was a coaching intern for the Dallas Cowboys. In 2014, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an assistant special teams coach. In 2019, Polk joined the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as an assistant special teams coach. In January 2020, he was let go with the arrival of new Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
