BOULDER — Early in his coaching career, Colorado assistant Denver Johnson decided that two of his ambitions were to 1) recruit a player who could win the Heisman Trophy, and 2) coach a player who would earn the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best offensive or defensive lineman.
A quarter of a century has passed, and those ambitions remain unfulfilled. But what about coaching a left tackle who has become a national finalist for the “academic Heisman” and also projects as a probable NFL first-round draft choice next spring?
“Nothing wrong with that, either,” Johnson said with a grin. “Nate Solder is a special, special young man.”
CU senior cornerback Jimmy Smith likes to tell the story about how opposing players have asked him, “Who is that giant?”
At 6-feet-9 and 315 pounds, Solder draws attention wherever he goes. It can make him feel uncomfortable at times. A small-town kid from Buena Vista, Solder never thought he was better than anyone else. Five months from possibly walking on the stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to receive a congratulatory handshake from the NFL commissioner for being selected in the first round, Solder still wants to be one of the guys — and believes that’s all he is.
Solder doesn’t peruse those websites with 2011 draft projections. He probably wouldn’t know where to look.
“All the hype, I just leave it at that,” Solder said. “It doesn’t do me any good. I’m just focused on Saturday,” when host Colorado will honor Solder and 16 other seniors prior to facing Kansas State.
Solder never has sought the spotlight. During his senior season at Buena Vista, some teammates might not have known he caught the eyes of major-college recruiters.
Being made out to be special “isn’t Nate’s deal,” said Bob Marken, who is retiring after 19 years as Buena Vista’s football coach. “If he gets drafted in the first round, he’ll take it real humbly, I know that. And he’ll try to avoid all the fuss as much as possible.”
Solder was blessed with superior size and nimble feet, but things haven’t always come easy for him. In seventh-grade boys basketball, Solder wasn’t good enough to play on the A squad and was assigned to the B team.
By the end of his junior year of high school, Solder still pictured himself as a basketball player, although on the football field he caught 24 passes the previous fall as a towering tight end. Ultimately, Solder’s choice for college came down to playing football for Colorado or Ivy League basketball at Dartmouth.
“If I hadn’t gotten that offer from Colorado, I probably would have gone basketball,” Solder said. “But that offer from CU, that was an offer from a big-time program. I wasn’t getting offers like that for basketball.”
Prior to Colorado coming into the picture during the fall of his senior year, Solder’s main suitors for football had been Colorado State and Wyoming. After CU offered, several other Big 12 North schools — Nebraska, Kansas State and Iowa State — contacted him. Funny how that works.
There also was an issue regarding what position he would play in college. Already up to 6-8 and 245 pounds as a high school senior, Solder caught 31 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns in helping Buena Vista go 12-0 before losing to Holy Family in the Class 2A state championship game. Solder made it known to recruiters he enjoyed catching the ball.
“Colorado initially told Nate he’d probably he’d be an offensive tackle,” Marken recalled. “Then I believe it was Iowa State that told him he could play tight end. So CU came back and said, ‘Well, we’ll let you play tight end.’ But I think everybody really saw him as a tackle.”
Initially recruited by Gary Barnett’s CU staff, Solder became part of Dan Hawkins’ first recruiting class. Solder redshirted in 2006, and the following year he caught three passes (all against Miami of Ohio) as a redshirt freshman tight end while being utilized mostly on special teams.
The following spring, at the urging of then-CU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, Solder switched to offensive tackle. He has put on about 50 pounds of mostly muscle during the past three years.
“Seeing him develop has really been a pleasure for me,” quarterback Cody Hawkins said. “When Nate got here as a tight end, he got people’s attention for the way he could hit, even being so tall and skinny.
“He was a good tight end, but the coaches thought he would be a great left tackle. The thing about Nate is, it’s not all about football.”
Solder will attend the College Football Hall of Fame banquet in December as one of 16 scholar-athlete finalists for the annual William V. Campbell Trophy, nicknamed the “academic Heisman.” Interested in veterinary medicine after his football career, Solder already has earned a bachelor’s degree in biology (3.5 GPA) and has been taking more pre-vet courses this fall.
Even schoolwork hasn’t necessarily been a snap, however. Solder might spend more time in study hall than anybody on the roster. “If I need to find Nate,” Johnson said, “that’s where I look.”
As for Solder’s work on the field, Johnson believes Solder is playing at an Outland Trophy level and may well have been considered for that award if the Buffs had won more games. Marken attended the Buffs’ victory over Georgia and marveled at how many Bulldogs defensive players were blasted off their feet by Solder blocks. On misdirection plays, especially, Solder made them look like bowling pins, Marken added.
Although Johnson’s coaching career has included stops at Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Mississippi State, he never has had a pupil become an NFL first-round draft choice. As they might say in Johnson’s native Oklahoma, that is fixin’ to change.
“If Nate gets invited to be in New York for the draft and wants me to come along, I’m there,” Johnson said.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Taking their final bows
Seventeen seniors will be recognized Saturday at Folsom Field prior to Colorado’s game against Kansas State, the final home appearance of their college careers. Here are the regular senior starters:
LB B.J. Beatty
6-feet-2, 235, Kaaawa, Hawaii
Emotional leader, leads the team in sacks (five) and tackles for loss (nine).
CB Jalil Brown
6-1, 205, Phoenix
Primarily a tailback in high school, he leads in interceptions (three) and is on NFL radar.
PK Aric Goodman
5-10, 195, Cherry Hills Village
Three-year starter finally gaining some consistency (8-of-12 FG) as a senior.
QB Cody Hawkins
5-11, 190, Boise, Idaho
Signed by his dad, he ranks first in career TD passes (54), second in yardage.
WR Scotty McKnight
5-11, 185, Coto de Caza, Calif. Four-year starter is school’s all-time receptions leader (208).
SN Joe Silipo
6-2, 250, Englewood
Transfer from Northern Colorado finally got chance to start as short snapper as senior.
LB Michael Sipili
6-1, 245, Honolulu
Overcame 2007 university suspension after off-campus fight to lead in tackles (76) as senior.
CB Jimmy Smith
6-2, 205, Colton, Calif.
Lockdown defender in man-to-man coverage, could go relatively early in NFL draft.
LT Nate Solder
6-9, 315, Buena Vista
Arrived as a lean tight end, departs as probable NFL first-round pick as offensive tackle.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
Three questions for Colorado
1. Can Colorado ride some momentum from last week’s 34-14 victory over Iowa State and get off to a good start against a more physical Kansas State team? It’s never a good idea to start slowly against Bill Snyder- coached teams because they seem to gain traction and become stronger as the game goes on. In last year’s 20-6 Kansas State victory in Manhattan, Kan., Colorado took a modest 6-3 lead and then was skunked for the remainder of the game.
2. How will CU’s seniors perform? Following an emotional pregame “Senior Day” ceremony, it’s not unusual to see seniors come out flat for their final home game. It’s just as bad when seniors are too fired up and try to do too much, such as overrunning plays or committing silly penalties. CU coaches will be looking for controlled aggression from the 17-player senior class in this game — and a ton of leadership.
3. Can Buffs defenders keep KSU tailback Daniel Thomas from controlling the game? That’s precisely what the 6-foot-2, 228-pounder did in last year’s meeting, netting 145 yards on just 20 carries. Now a senior, Thomas ranks second among Big 12 rushers with 1,168 yards, behind only Kendall Hunter (1,356) of Oklahoma State.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
