In the game of football, strategizing and making the right call is extremely important. Solon High School (SHS) student athlete, Joel Kpassou did just that when he took the big step that every senior is anxiously waiting to take and committed to college. He chose to continue with his football career and commit to playing football at the University of Findlay.

Football at Solon has always been a huge source of pride for the school and community as a whole. According to his teammates, Kpassou shows hard work, teamwork and most importantly, leadership on Solon’s team. Kpassou is talked about highly by his peers at the school and has proven himself to be a great player when he decided to take it to the next level and continue playing in college.

Kpassou has been playing football since the eighth grade and has made it a huge part of his life.

One of his teammates, Harley Barmen, a junior on the team who plays wide receiver with Kpassou, talks about learning from Kpassou both on and off the field.

Q: What is it like having Joel on the team with you?

A: He is a great teammate, having him in the locker room and at practice is very beneficial to me and the receivers as a whole. I learned by example from Joel, like drills and stuff. He really helped me to learn the receiver position.

Q: How does he work with his teammates?

A: During the drills he will go first, I just try to copy what he does. Like the way he moves, the head fakes and everything. I try to mimic the small moves, it helps me get better at the position.

Q: Did you see Joel ending up somewhere like Findley for football?

A: Joel is a super talented, really fast guy. I actually did think he would be going there, he committed to Ball State and then he decommitted, which I thought was a very smart decision. I thought he could play there but he has a better chance of playing right away at a smaller school like Findlay. I think at the end of the day he made a really good choice.

Q: Do you have a favorite memory with Joel?

A: Week eight against Mentor, Joel caught a screen, and he turned it up against their sideline, and I was blocking for him, and he came up behind my back, put his hand on my back and said “atta boy Chabass.” And Chabass is a nickname of mine, and it was kinda funny because it was just in the middle of a play.

Below is more insight from Kpassou himself, as he explains his decision and what Solon High School has done for him.