Former Godby, Troy star Javon Solomon should bolster Buffalo Bills defense on the edge
Javon Solomon has relied on his work ethic during his football journey.
It's was displayed at Godby High, continued at Troy and has the chance to be showcased in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills added a needed edge rusher to bolster their roster Saturday, selecting Solomon in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, 168th overall.
Solomon, who watched and celebrated the milestone with family and friends at his Tallahassee home, led Football Bowl Subdivision last year with 16 sacks.
"Once you see your dreams and how you want to attain them, you keep working to achieve them," Solomon said Sunday. "That commitment can't fade away."
No one was happier to see Solomon drafted than Corey Fuller.
Fuller is the former NFLer who coached at Gadsden County High and Godby and is the director of football relations at his alma mater, Florida State.
Fuller saw two of his former Godby players drafted Saturday in Solomon and Jaylen Key by the New York Jets in the seventh round. Key was this year's 'Mr. Irrelevant" as the last player selected in the seven-round Draft, 257th overall.
The duo helped turn around the Cougars' football program, leading it to the Class 5A regional semifinals in 2018.
"They both did it the right way from the get-go," Fuller said Sunday. "So many things have to go just right to be drafted.
"I am very proud of those kids and helping them to reach their dreams."
Troy defensive end Javon Solomon led the nation in sacks with 16
Solomon, listed at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, had a nation-best 16 sacks last season and finished his career with a school-record 33 sacks.
His sack total at Troy surpassed that of former Troy star and future Pro Football Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware, who had 27.5 from 2001-04.
Solomon never stopped working.
Solomon recorded four of Troy's nine sacks in its 45-14 win at ULM last November, tying Osi Umenyiora (2002) for the Troy single-game record. He registered 11 sacks in Troy's final five games of the season. Additionally, he forced two fumbles in Troy's Sun Belt Championship Game victory over App State.
Solomon first met with Bills officials at the Senior Bowl in January. He is scheduled to depart for Buffalo next week.
“I had great conversations with a bunch of teams, but the (Bills’) tone definitely stuck out, and the questions they were asking were a little bit different,” Solomon told the buffalonews.com
“That little moment, you could tell the conversations went even beyond football and was a little different.”
Javon Solomon has company in Buffalo, busy NFL Draft for Tallahassee
Solomon joins former FSU receiver Keon Coleman with the Bills. Buffalo selected Coleman with the first pick in the second round Friday.
It was a busy three-day NFL Draft for Tallahassee, which saw three former prep stars selected in Solomon, Key and first-round selection Terrion Arnold.
Arnold, the former St. John Paull II Catholic High School two-sport star and Alabama defensive back, was a first-round selection of the Detroit Lions Thursday.
In addition to Coleman, FSU had 10 players selected in the NFL Draft.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Buffalo Bills select former Godby star Javon Solomon in NFL Draft
