Solder May Soon Be Protecting Brady's Blind Side

Solder may soon be protecting Brady’s blind side | New England Patriots | projo.com | The Providence Journal Page 1 of 3

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Comments 0 | Recommend 0 Solder may soon be protecting Brady’s blind side

12:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, April 20, 2012

By PAUL KENYON

Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO — For the second straight year, Nate Solder’s future is dependent on what someone else might do.

Last year, the big offensive tackle from Colorado was waiting to see which team would pick him in the NFL Draft. Once the draft began, he did not have to wait long. The Patriots made him their first-round draft choice.

A year later, Solder’s situation revolves around what Matt Light will do. Light has been New England’s starting left tackle for the last 11 years, but there are strong indications that he will retire. If that happens, Solder will almost certainly move from the right side, where he saw most of his action last season, into the key role of being Tom Brady’s blind-side protector.

Solder spoke Thursday about how Light has helped him become a pro.

“Matt’s been great. He helps me. He helps me to continue to develop. He knows a lot Only in the eEdition & in print about the game. He’s got a ton of experience. It’s been really good having him here.” All-States Monday. The private schools Still, Solder is not thinking about what Light might do. swept the top awards for girls' hockey. Wrestling is Tuesday. “I don’t know what my role is going to be. Right now my mindset is to get better,” he All of the athletes are from public schools. said. “There’s a lot I have to improve on. That’s what I’m going to work on right now, focus on. eEdition Subscribers

“I’d like to get bigger, stronger, maybe taller,” he said, before laughing at himself at Read Register the last thought. As it is, Solder is 6-foot-8. “I’d like to understand the playbook better. Going into my second year, I want to continue to progress and get better.” Not a Subscriber?

Learn More Subscribe While he joked about his height, he was serious about wanting to get heavier and stronger. That is, in fact, a major focus. As it is, he weighs “only” about 310. The Patriots would like him to be somewhere between 320 and 330. With his body, that is

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/patriots/content/Patriots_Solder_Light_NFL_04-20-12_ASUMDOK... 4/23/2012 Solder may soon be protecting Brady’s blind side | New England Patriots | projo.com | The Providence Journal Page 2 of 3

understandable. Even at 310 pounds, he looks on the lean side, at least for an NFL tackle. For him, putting on weight is not easy.

“I’ve been trying to gain weight since I was a freshman in college. That’s kind of a struggle for me,” he related. “I don’t need a ton more, but for my personal development, I think that would help me.

“It’s not hard to gain a lot of weight that’s not going to help you play football. When I say it’s hard for me to gain weight, it’s hard because it takes a lot [of work] in the weight room,” he said. “You’ve got to be lifting hard because you want to gain muscle. You want to stay fast and you want to stay flexible.

“A lot of it comes down to your diet, how you are eating,” he added. “I’m eating four of five meals a day with protein shakes in between.”

He reported that the first week of voluntary workouts was not being made easy by the coaching staff.

“Man, we’re jumping right into it, high energy, difficult runs, difficult lifts, getting right after it,” he said.

There is every indication that the Pats made a wise choice when they selected Solder in last year’s draft. Regardless of whether he becomes a full-time starter this season or not, he showed as a rookie that he can be an effective player in this league for a long time to come. He is much more confident than a year ago.

“It’s much different this time,” he said. “Last year I didn’t know where I was going to be. I didn’t know how to train. I had never played a single snap in an NFL game. I didn’t know who any of my teammates were going to be. Now there are some things that are kind of answered, and I can focus my energies on some of the things I need to improve.

“It’s certainly nice to be able to focus, where before it was a broad range of things I had to prepare for. Now, I know there are select things. I think it helps your confidence, but your confidence is really going to be built up in camp and playing well. I’m just building towards that.”

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