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In My Own Words: Connor Soelle

(Connor Soelle Twitter photo)
(Connor Soelle Twitter photo)

Arriving from such an accomplished local high school program in Scottsdale Saguaro, playing a position that bears the name of a Sun Devil legend could undoubtedly create an enormous level of pressure for any ASU freshman to come into. Yet, newcomer Connor Soelle, couldn’t be more excited to play for a program he was cheering for at a young age, and joining forces with his brother as he sees great opportunity to shine on the bright ASU stage that awaits him.

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“Getting into sports when I was a young kid I didn’t really play football, I was more of a soccer, baseball-type kid, and then just randomly when I was about eight years old, me and my brother, who was 10 at the time, we decided to pick up a football and try it out.

“We were playing Pop Warner up in Queen Creek, where we lived at the time, and we just fell in love with it from there. We loved the competitive aspect of it, the physicality, and growing up with two older brothers I was always in the middle of the fire. So, I just loved every aspect of football, and once I picked up the sport there was no turning back. It was my passion and something that I fell in love with.

“It’s really hard to put into words, what it feels like to play for Saguaro and be part of such a successful program..as long as you go in there with the right attitude and you’re all bought into what that program is all about, you’re perfect."
— Connor Soelle


“I can’t tell you a youth team where I didn’t play literally every down of every game, and I loved it. That’s what helped me get prepared for high school football as much as possible, having that advantage of playing every position, and being so versatile. It allowed me to have a lot of opportunities to get on the field, even if it’s not playing the direct position that you may want, you know there’s always an opportunity somewhere else, so you have to take advantage of it.

“Making that transition from junior high to high school and coming to play at a program like Saguaro was a really eye-opening experience.
You’re coming in and you have guys in front of you like Byron Murphy, K.J. Jarrell, who’s here right now, Jared Poplawski, who’s at Colorado, my brother…all these guys that are eventually going to D-I programs. You see that and think, ‘wow, like one day I have to become a player like that to be able to have the same opportunities that they have.’ But you know that it drives you, it inspires you, and it makes you able to go into every day working hard with the right attitude, the right mindset, just knowing that if you work hard every day that is what can happen in the end. That’s the end goal, and you look forward to it and you work really hard for it.

“Even though my brother Kyle was already playing for Saguaro, I would say it still was a pretty hard transition. You’re a freshman at the end of the day, there’s not much he can do for you, but tell me like things to try to avoid or stay away from, and just to try to get me on the right path. But as a freshman, you know you have to find your way, work hard, try to fit in, and find your place.

“It’s really hard to put into words, what it feels like to play for Saguaro and be part of such a successful program. It’s something that you have to be a part of. You get there, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you are, or anything like that, you know they’re just going to accept you the way they accept everybody.

“As long as you go in there with the right attitude and you’re all bought into what that program is all about, you’re perfect. You’ll fit in just fine. You’re family and everyone treats you like that. It’s not really something that you can describe to people on the outside; you just have to be a part of it to understand what it’s like.

“Having that pressure playing at Saguaro is something that can possibly help me at ASU. Saguaro High School is one of the best high schools, if not the best in the state, that can get you prepared to play college football. All the coaches there run it exactly like a college football program, and that’s why they put out so many kids that play at the D-I level, and just the collegiate level in general. Everything they do is geared to get you ready for that level and I’m super thankful that I did make the decision to attend Saguaro. I wouldn’t be half of what I am right now as a freshman at ASU if it wasn’t for that program.

“I was on the varsity team as a sophomore just because I didn’t transfer to Saguaro until after my freshman season at Notre Dame Prep, so I was on the varsity team for all the three years that I was at Saguaro. When I arrived there, it was a whole new world, kind of going from the high school level to the collegiate level. Everything is a lot more fast-paced, and more specific. A lot heavier weights in the weight room, a lot faster on the field. With everything you have going on you have to react to it instead of thinking about it. You have to just play ball, trust your instincts and that’s really what helped me. When I got to Saguaro I played football as I always had, I didn’t really think about it too much, and went out there and did my thing.

“I saw the way that the guys that were going D-I, how hard they were working and trusted the process and knew that if I was working that hard, then eventually and hopefully it would come to me. I just had to handle my business in the classroom, be respectful in the community, knowing that if I did all of those things I would make myself a prime piece of real estate for division one colleges. At the beginning of my junior season, I started realizing that getting a scholarship to a D-I school was more of a reality. I was going out on Friday nights and making a really big impact in the games and after that season I started to get my first couple offers, so it was really a surreal experience.”

“ASU was my first offer which definitely helped just because you know they were the first big college that trusted in me. It the Herm Edwards staff that offered me and that was super exciting. I think I was one of their first in-state offers they had given out, so you know it hit deep and I really enjoyed how much they trusted in my ability to play and how excited they were about me as a player.

"On my first visit to Arizona State after he had offered me, coach Edwards was talking to a couple of us guys and he told us to ‘use football, not let football use us.’ So, he really spoke about how, we should use football as a vehicle to get your education and prepare yourself for your life outside of just football."
— Connor Soelle

“I talked to coach Yantis the most, just because he was recruiting the in-state players, but actually when I did get offered I talked on the phone with coach Edwards, which was awesome. It was a really surreal experience. He’s one of those people that you always see on TV, and he had such a career and history in the game of football. So, being able to be on the phone with him, talking on your cell phone, it’s kind of insane. There are so many people in the world that look up to that man. To hear from him directly, and to get that type of opportunity from someone like coach Edwards directly is something I can’t even put into words. It’s just an amazing experience.

“On my first visit to Arizona State after he had offered me, coach Edwards was talking to a couple of us guys and he told us to ‘use football, not let football use us.’ So, he spoke about how we should use football as a vehicle to get your education and prepare yourself for your life outside of just football. That’s something that I really appreciated, because as much as I do love football I do understand that there is another aspect outside of football, in your education and life outside the sport. Football doesn’t last forever and that’s something I really appreciated him saying because I knew that he understood what I was passionate about, which was getting an education and being able to play football and having that balance.

“I think most people on the outside looking in would probably say, ‘you know that his brother Kyle playing there is probably a big reason why he chose Arizona State.’ But in the grand scheme of things, even though that was always a plus being able to play with my brother, it wasn’t the only reason. Aside from that, being able to be right down the road from my family, and then playing in a great defensive scheme, getting along with all of the position coaches and just the coaches in general…I just liked everything that ASU had to offer for me. It was something that I really couldn’t turn down, so I think even if my brother hadn’t been going here, I think I still would’ve ended up choosing this university. Overall, it fit me the best out of all the schools that I had opportunities from.

"Playing a position named after such a legend such as Pat Tillman definitely adds a little bit of coolness. But it also adds a lot of pressure just because, if you’re playing a position that’s named after Pat Tillman, it’s just a huge burden on your shoulders and you definitely don’t want to let anyone down."
— Connor Soelle

“I was super excited when ASU recruited me as a Tillman safety. I had gotten a couple of opportunities as a linebacker, a couple as a safety, even one as a slot receiver. So, when ASU had told me that they wanted me to play more of their hybrid safety position, I thought personally that that fit me perfectly. In high school, I wasn’t the biggest linebacker, but I was definitely more versatile and a lot faster than most of them (was part of the 4A 4x100 team that won the state championship). I think it was a really smart decision for me to run track and play football. Football gives you that strength, so then you have that explosiveness on the track, and then track allows you to have like that stamina to be able to carry like a full sprint across like an entire football field. Both sports really go hand-in-hand together.



“My speed is definitely one of my skillsets that’s kind of like my dark horse, meaning people look at me and they’re probably not saying, ‘Oh, he’s the fastest player,’ but when I get on the field, I’m really good at playing sideline to sideline and that’s what I pride myself on. I constantly try to get to the ball and make a play. So my speed is definitely something that surprises people a little bit when they try to get to the edge and I chase them down, surprise them a little bit, get in their head in the game. That’s an advantage for me on the field.

“When you look at transferring those skills over to the collegiate level, a hybrid position is something that fits me perfectly. I’ve got a good frame for it, and I’ve also got the speed aspect of it. So, I think as long as I can get all my p’s and q’s down, understand all the schemes, it can be a great position for me in the future.”

“Even before I picked up a football before I was eight years old, I was here at ASU tailgates with my grandpa and my mom at all the home games. So, it was super exciting when Kyle ended up going here, and then when I got the opportunity to go there as well, it was really truly a dream come true. Playing a position named after such a legend such as Pat Tillman definitely adds a little bit of coolness. But it also adds a lot of pressure just because, if you’re playing a position that’s named after Pat Tillman, it’s a huge burden on your shoulders and you definitely don’t want to let anyone down. You want to be the guy that can control the field, lead the team, and do things just as Pat Tillman did, so it’s super exciting.

“I would say I enjoyed seeing this ASU defense grow from the 2017 to the 2018 season. Because my brother was on the team both years, I was really in-tune with what they were doing, and he was giving me a little bit of an inside scoop of. So, watching how they improved in 2018, watching how aggressive they were, just constantly bringing pressure, allowing guys to make plays and trusting the players…those things were really exciting to me and made me want to become part of this team and this defense and play for coach Gonzales and coach White as my position coach.

“I enjoyed watching Jalen Harvey play the position, and just how he was in on pretty much every single play. This scheme really gives the ‘Tillman’ an opportunity to make an impact on every single down. You have a wide range of different things that you can do at that position, getting into man coverages, zone coverages, playing the run, blitzing…super exciting. It’s one of the most versatile positions on the field in any defense, and it was super cool watching that last year. Ty Whiley (the presumed starter at ‘Tillman’) is someone I talked to a lot, and he’s taken me under his wing, showing me some of the things that I need to know going into camp.

“It’s been great getting to know coach Gonzales and has been a blessing really just because he’s so adamant about winning 18 (i.e. ASU football’s 18th conference championship since the program’s inception). He’s so committed to this program being great and you can really appreciate it and buy into it. It makes you want to go all-in for a coach like that because he’s so committed to his players and the university and just everything around it.

“Compared to the out-of-state freshmen, it’s an easier transition to go from high school to ASU, but it’s still definitely a big transition. Moving out of the house, getting into college and living on your own, it’s something that you’re not used to, but something you’re going to have eventually adapt to. I appreciate how I can come in and quickly adjust to a lot of things because it’s familiar. My roommate’s Ricky Pearsall and we’re both pretty quiet guys though, so we just mind our own business, play some Xbox, relax when we’re not working out. It’s nice having a quiet room all the time. I do have so many siblings, so there’s always something going on in the background. But just being able to sit in my room and there’s no noise is kind of crazy to get used to (smile).

“I know all the freshmen all pretty hungry. We obviously came in a little bit behind all the older guys who have been working out all summer, but I think we’re all committing ourselves to catching up to them. We want to be as ready for fall camp and as close to where they are getting ready for the season as quickly as possible. I really appreciate how hungry, ready to go this class is, and I can just feel myself fitting in great with all these guys.

“Most of the time you come into a new team and you think, ‘oh, I’m just going to be a freshman, and they’re going to treat me like dirt.’ But the veterans don’t do that. They bring you in with open arms and they want to show you how to do things the right way, so that by the time you get to where they’re at you can keep progressing and making this program better and better. As a freshman, you can really appreciate that because they are not trying to beat you down, they’re trying to build you up and show you the right things to do and the right way to go, so it’s pretty sweet.

“Ty Whiley always tells me to push myself as hard as I can. Coming in, doing the workouts, it’s pretty easy to not do that extra rep just because you’re tired or something like that. But watching Ty Whiley work, and you know he’s been in the workouts for a while so he really knows what you need to do to be able to be great and I appreciate how he’s shown me how to push myself that extra little bit.

“In order to give myself a chance to play, I just have to take advantage of every opportunity I can get. So, anytime I’m on the field I want to give 100 percent, give every last bit of effort I have and see what happens from there. I’m going to always try to make plays and just play ball the way I always have and see what happens.

“With playing close to home, I think there’s definitely a little bit of added pressure. But there is also a different sense of pride that you have being a local guy, playing for your local school, and there’s nothing more you want to do than allow your school and your university to win and just be great for all those local people that have supported you throughout your entire career.”

Chris Gleason contributed to this article

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