Prospect Spotlight: Garrison Solliday (2021)

At the beginning of his varsity career, St. Thomas Academy senior [player_tooltip player_id="18040" first="Garrison" last="Solliday"] was approached by his coaches, asking him to change positions. Although undersized for the position, Solliday agreed to the change, and both the team and the athlete have benefited. During his senior year, the coaches put in some packages to feature the senior back at his original position – again – for the benefit of the team and the player. As everyone knows, the season’s start was in doubt. "At the start of the year – (the players) decided we were still going to work out even if we didn’t get a season," Solliday said. "We worked out hard this summer, and the team bonded. When the news came down that we weren’t going to play, it was like a stab in the heart. Our coaches told us this wasn’t an excuse to stop working. Coach (STA head coach Dan) O’Brien kept being optimistic, saying he thought we would end up playing. He kept pushing us. It was a tough season with everything COVID brought during the season too. We were missing a lot of guys for a lot of our games. The seniors were fortunate – there were very few seniors who missed any playing time. Part of that was how we bonded. We told each other, for two months, nobody does anything you are not supposed to. We fought through it as a group. It was tough, but I am glad we got to play." Their dedication paid off to the tune of an undefeated season. "Defense has been our strength the last few years – and this year," Solliday said. "We had a young secondary that got better as the year went along. Opponents could not run the ball on us all year. There were a couple of games where we gave up negative rushing yards. Our running backs – [player_tooltip player_id="18062" first="Danny" last="McFadden"] and [player_tooltip player_id="19005" first="Love" last="Adebayo"] – run hard, and with our offensive line, the offense was solid in the running game. We had a strong team all-around." Solliday moved all around the Cadets’ defensive front seven. "Most of the time, I was nose guard or defensive tackle, but I moved all over the defensive line," Solliday explained. "There were some packages where I played linebacker. The coaches liked lining me up against mismatches, where I could beat someone off the ball and get to the ball-carrier." Linebacker was the 6’1" and 230-pound senior’s original position. "I played linebacker until my sophomore year. As a sophomore, my coach said I could start at defensive line. I took the opportunity, and they kept me there because they liked how I played there." The move helped the present and may have helped Solliday’s – who also played some offensive guard as a senior – future. "I wanted to play some linebacker this year too because I wanted to get some game tape at linebacker to send to colleges. I wanted to showcase that I could play both positions to colleges. It is more of my natural position, considering my body type and speed. " "My strengths are getting off the ball, finding the ball-carrier, and tackling," Solliday continued. "The majority of the time, if I get my hands on you, you are not going anywhere." His strengths in football coincide with another sport in which he excels – wrestling. Wrestling in the 220-pound weight class, Solliday took third place at the state wrestling tournament in Class AA earlier this year. Solliday has been recruited as a wrestler by Division III wrestling powerhouse Augsburg. Although Solliday is not closing any doors, he feels football will still be his choice for college. "Football recruiting has been good. I am not the biggest guy, but I am a solid size. It is hard for a Division I team to look at me. A lot of coaches like to recruit big guys – I understand that. I can’t change how tall I am going to be, but I can work on getting quicker and stronger. College coaches have seen that, so recruiting has been going well. I am being recruited at defensive line at some places and linebacker at others." Football programs like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, North Dakota State, and some Ivy League schools have shown interest in Solliday. "My coach tells them I am a great leader," prepredzonemn.com’s 16th ranked senior said. "I have a great motor and am coachable. They know I work hard and will do whatever the coach wants me to. I have great grades – they like that too." They know he has position flexibility, too – something that will continue to help Solliday and whatever college program he decides to attend.