By PAUL BEAUDRY
MOBILE, Ala. – The best high school receiver in Alabama isn’t your typical high school receiver.
In an age of “Look At ME!” he shies away from crowds. Yeah, he plays Xbox, but he rarely watches TV. He doesn’t show off, but did show horses – Tennessee walking horses, to be exact – with his uncle. He wears Polo shirts and sports five tattoos. And for relaxation, he prefers kayaking to kicking back.
On the field, he’s pretty atypical too. He’s speedy, he’s shifty, he makes cuts that leave his own coach shaking his head.
But Solomon Patton, the No. 12-rated wide receiver, works hard. His coach says he always has; Patton says he always will. It’s comfortable, it’s what he likes and what he wants.
And that’s why the Murphy High School senior – nicknamed “Little Man” for his 5-foot-9, 167-pound frame – is headed to Florida; it’s comfortable. It’s what he likes and what he wants. And the Gators feel the same about him.
“I really liked four places – Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Southern Mississippi,” said Patton. “I really wanted to check out Ole Miss, but by that time, I had gone to Florida and was blown away. It’s where I really wanted to be.”
Truth be told, where Patton would really like to be is on the Dog River – kayaking with his coach, Ronn Lee – and his family. It relaxes him and, it’s not a secret in Mobile that right after his own family, being with the Lees would be second on Patton’s list.
“I just like being with coach Lee,” Patton said. “His wife and his family are good people. They took me down on the Dog River to go kayaking. And I have to tell you, it was scary at first being that low to the water. There’s gators out there and everything. It’s crazy, but I got out there and liked it. A lot of people think I’m crazy for it, but it relaxes you. You’re just being in the water and around people you enjoy being around.”
That’s important to Patton and his core group of friends. He eschews eating lunch in Murphy High’s busy cafeteria; he’d rather take his lunch to the field house and eat with the coaches. During Mobile’s busy Mardi Gras, you didn’t find him downtown celebrating; he was at the Lees’ house with teammates enjoying the lost art of roasting marshmallows and making S’mores.
“I’m the type that doesn’t like big crowds. If something happens, I don’t want to be in the middle,” said Patton. “We had to show these guys how to roast marshmallows and put them on the stick.”