Solon Page earns latest honor, eager to prove talents at Tennessee

Last fall, Kell (Ga.) linebacker Solon Page III racked up the third-most tackles (178) in the Peach State, as the Vols’ 2017 signee was named Georgia’s Class 5A defensive player of the year and a Parade All-American honorable mention.

Moving to Tennessee soon, Page picked up one more prestigious honor before packing his bags.

Earlier this month, Page’s church Turner Chapel AME — a Methodist congregation with more than 3,000 people — awarded the linebacker with its first-ever “Young Man of the Year” honors for Page's outstanding sportsmanship on and off the field. Page was a team-leader at Kell and was active in the community volunteering at Horizon Fields, a place where special needs children play baseball.

“A lot of those kids look up to us because so many of them have (challenges). Some of them can’t walk. Some of them can’t talk,” Page explained. “It’s a real good experience going out there knowing there’s people out there who can’t do what we do, and it shows us how blessed we are. These little kids, they look up to us. To see the smile on their faces, it’s really just a blessing.”

In February, Tennessee coach Butch Jones was chided for his silly “five-star hearts” comments, but Page represents the type of talented, high-character prospect Jones was attempting to describe. Page was a productive player in high school, a good student and a valuable member of the community.

“It’s about giving back,” Page said. “Showing other people that there’s a way out and other stuff you can do aside from selling drugs and stealing and what’all. There’s other ways you can get where you need to go. You just have to find your talent and find what you do best and do that to the best of your ability and just keep getting better and better.”

Page, who plans to study marketing at Tennessee and holds the distinction as the first commit in 2017 class, admitted he was caught by surprise at the award. His family was tipped off a bit when his father received an email making sure they’d be in church that Sunday, but Solon believed he was simply going to participate in a step-team performance.

“It was a surprise because they’ve never done this before,” he said. “I’m part of this step team, I thought we were going to perform because we go around and perform that day and that’s why they wanted us to make sure we came. But then we get to church and they started talking about the award, I was sitting with all my friends and they all started looking at me and I’m like, ‘Is he really describing me?’ Then he called my name and I was like, ‘Well. Ah, man.’”

Page is trying to enjoy his last few weekends at home, but he’s also been grinding in the weight room using Rock Gullickson’s prescribed training regimen. He’s up to 205 pounds, and hopes to add a few more before reporting on May 28.

“I’m just trying to get big and in football shape,” he said. “I was running track and there’s a difference between being in track shape and track speed and being in football shape and football speed. They’re too totally different things, so I’m just trying to keep my speed from track and have it translate to the football field.”

At a recent Kell spring practice, Page had the opportunity to catch up and pick the brain of former high school teammate and Georgia cornerback Brendan Langley. Langley, who later transferred to Lamar College, was recently selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and offered up some key advice to Page as the linebacker prepares for life in the SEC.

“He told me about my next few years, what to expect from playing in the SEC,” Page said. “He told me to stay humble never settle for less, always strive to be better than where you are. If you’re a second-string, strive to be a starter. If you start at one position, strive to get coaches to talk about maybe we need him at this position, too or (special) teams.”

Page is eager to get to school to prove his talents as one of the more underrated prospects in the Southeast last cycle. He projects as a special teams dynamo in 2017, but Tennessee linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen has delivered a message that Page better be ready for any role come the fall.

“As soon as I step on campus, he doesn’t want me to take a backseat to anybody,” Page said. “He wants me to come out there and try and compete for a starting spot by the time fall hits. Now, coming in as a freshman I don’t really expect that, but if that’s what coaches want, then I have no choice to go out there to work my hardest to get in the conversation.”