Nate Solder

Nate Solder

No. 77     New England Patriots
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12) (age 23)
Place of birth: Denver, Colorado
Height: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	Weight: 319 lb (145 kg)
Career information
College: Colorado
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17
Debuted in 2011 for the New England Patriots
Career history
New England Patriots (2011–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
1× First Team All-Big 12 (2009) 1× Consensus All-American (2010)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2011
Games played	7
Games started	6
Fumbles recovered	0
Stats at NFL.com

Nate Solder (born April 12, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After a college career with Colorado, he was picked 17th overall in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Patriots.

Personal

Hobbies include kayaking, rafting, fishing, skiing and reading. He also has done a fair share of community service, including coaching Pee Wee basketball and speaking to the entire Buena Vista elementary school student body; he has been a student aide and mentor to many of their students.

High School

Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 45 tight end in the nation as the eighth overall prospect in the state of Colorado. He earned first-team all-state (2A) honors on both sides of the ball: by the Rocky Mountain News at tight end, and from the Denver Post at linebacker. He was a two-time, first-team All-Tri-Peaks League performer, at both positions as a senior and on defense as a junior. He was a two-year starter at tight end and middle linebacker, twice being named the most outstanding linebacker in the Tri-Peaks League; he started at defensive end as a sophomore and saw significant action as the backup tight end.

As a senior, he had 31 receptions for 513 yards and eight touchdowns (and ran one reverse for a short game in the state playoffs), with 118 tackles, 76 solo, five for losses including two sacks, and a fumble recovery. He caught 24 balls for 276 yards and four scores as a junior, when he racked up 94 tackles (66 solo, three for losses with one sack) and made two interceptions. As a sophomore, he had seven catches for 110 yards and one touchdown, while making 44 tackles (31 solo, three sacks) with five fumble recoveries. He saw spot action late in the year on the varsity as a freshman.

For his career, Nate caught 62 passes for 899 yards and 13 touchdowns, while recording 256 tackles (173 solo, 83 assists) with six quarterback sacks and six fumble recoveries. Top games as a senior: in a 62-28 win over Salida, he caught four passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns; in a 41-14 victory over Lamar, he had two receptions for 94 yards, both touchdowns (50 and 44 yards), along with 11 tackles on defense (eight solo); and in a 17-14 win over Kent Denver in the state semifinals, he had 15 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Under long-time coach Bob Marken, Buena Vista posted a combined 27-4 record in his three full seasons on the varsity: 12-1 his senior year, losing in the state finals to Holy Family; and 8-1 his junior and 7-2 his sophomore seasons, losing in the first round both times; BVHS won the Tri-Peaks League title all three seasons.

Solder also lettered three times in basketball at center, averaging 15 points and eight rebounds per game as a senior when BVHS was the league and district champ, and lettered twice in baseball, playing first base and pitching (right-hander).

College career

As a senior, Solder started at left tackle for the Colorado Buffaloes; Solder came to Colorado as a redshirt freshman in 2006 as a 6'7", 230-pound tight end; by 2009, he was listed as 6'9", 305 pounds.

Solder was one of three finalists for the 2010 Outland Trophy, along with Gabe Carimi and Rodney Hudson; Carimi won the award.^[1] Jon Gruden of ESPN said that Solder "has a huge upside. But remember he's a converted tight end and a work in progress."^[2]

Following Christmas 2009, he traveled to Guatemala and volunteered at an orphanage; as a sophomore, he went to Italy during the summer to help rebuild a town after it suffered many collapses from an earthquake. At CU, he regularly participates in the "Read with the Buffs" and "Buffalo Hugs" programs.

Professional career

2011 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots made Solder the second offensive tackle chosen in the 2011 NFL Draft (after Tyron Smith) when they drafted him 17th overall.^[3] Solder had a private workout with Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia just a few days before the draft.

Solder signed a contract on August 4th, the details of which are yet to be revealed.^[4] Solder played his first regular season game against the Miami Dolphins on September 12th 2011, he allowed just one sack against Pro Bowler Cameron Wake.

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 8 in	319 lb	35½ in	9⅞ in	5.05 s			4.34 s	7.44 s	32 in	9 ft 2 in	21 rep
All values from NFL Combine[5]

References

1. ^ "2010 Outland Trophy Finalists Announced". FWAA. November 22, 2010. http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2010/outland101122.html. 
2. ^ "Gruden on Carimi: 'He can cream you'". JSOnline. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/120297904.html. Retrieved April 26, 2011. 
3. ^ "Solder is the pick for Patriots". WEEI.com. http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/football/patriots/christopher-price/2011/04/29/solder-pick-patriots. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 
4. ^ "Nate Solder signs with New England Patriots". Yahoo Sports. August 4, 2011. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=capress-fbn_patriots_solder-7698018. Retrieved August 8, 2011. 
5. ^ "Nate Solder Combine Profile", NFL.com, http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/nate-solder?id=2495232, retrieved March 2, 2011 

External links

• Colorado Buffaloes bio
• New England Patriots bio

Persondata
Name	Solder, Nate
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 12, 1988
Place of birth	Denver, Colorado
Date of death
Place of death