Garrett Golday Commits!
Tennessee Tech landed a rebounding forward capable of knocking down mid-range or outside shots as Garrett Golday (Arlington, M33M Hoops) verbally committed to the Golden Eagles Saturday.
“I felt like they were close knit family,” said 6-foot-7 Garrett Golday. “It is a homey place that I could see myself being there for awhile. I couldn’t see anything bad about it. Another thing was ‘this school is recruiting me harder than any other school.’ They came to every single one of my games. They came to my school at least twice a year.”
Garrett Golday (215 pounds) picked Tennessee Tech over Army and Air Force. His father also mentioned fleeting Mississippi State interest following a productive elite camp. Morehead State hovered. Middle Tennessee scouted some. Samford expressed interest.
AAU basketball was expectantly frustrating for the face-up forward Golday.
“Rebound, play defense,” said father Clay Golday. “Even when we played for Team Thad they set a pick for Tyler Harris and he jacks it. It just seems to be the guards seem to take all the shots.”
Few would argue that the lion’s share of AAU programs are guard-driven. More pointedly, rarely do guards pass to bigs when college coaches watch. This may have hurt Garrett’s recruitment because his touches were limited by teammates and indirectly coaches.
Thankfully Golday found a college home that aligns with his academic and athletic ambitions.
The 4.7 GPA student (3.9 on 4.0 school) will enroll in the engineering school at Tennessee Tech.
“I am just really good at math and science,” said Garrett Golday. “I just thought I would do what I am good at that makes money.”
Mechanical Engineering will require Golday to study long hours and take substantially more difficult exams than his teammates.
“He got to meet with the engineering department,” said Mr. Golday. “He wants to go into mechanical engineering. We narrowed our schools down to tech schools. We were wanting to go to somewhere with a very good engineering program.”
Tennessee Tech and the coaching staff of TTU did not try to dissuade Golday from embarking on the difficult, time-consuming major.
“That is what they did at Tennessee Tech,” said Mr. Golday. “They were encouraging him to do it. If he needs tutoring or academic help they are going to give it to him. He is going to give it to him. He is not going to have a lot of free time. He is going to have a 12-hour day every day.”
Golday credited Head Coach Steve Payne and Assistant Coach Jason Taylor with handling his recruitment. According to Garrett and his father the recruitment was consistent and thorough.
“They were at every AAU game over this summer,” said Mr. Golday. “They have been watching him since about tenth grade. Calling, emailing, text messaging.”
Golday becomes the second member of Tennessee Tech’s 2018 recruiting class. Caden Mills verbally committed earlier in 2017. Look for the Golden Eagles to sign both players in November.