By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Colby Sorsdal is a gentle soul who unwinds by strumming his guitar, but he also enjoys hitting people. Within the law, of course.

His physical side used to come out on the ice as a hockey player. Now, having reached the full potential of his size, it's on the football field as the starting right tackle at William & Mary.

It was an interesting transition from skates to cleats, and Sorsdal didn't play varsity football at Mount Lebanon High in Pittsburgh until his junior year. Yet he had more than a dozen scholarship offers, some from Bowl Subdivision programs, and has become a staple on the Tribe's offensive line.

"Hockey was all I used to do," said Sorsdal, who has started all 23 games he's played at W&M. "But my dad was like, 'Hey, you've got the size. Maybe you should take football a little more seriously.' That's when I started hitting the weights.

"My sophomore year, I started getting a lot of reps on JV and I got pretty good. That's when I was like, "OK, maybe I could do something with this.' I love hitting people and imposing my will."

Always on the large side, Sorsdal grew from about 6-foot-3, 215 pounds as a high school freshman to 6-6, 295 by the time he graduated. The athleticism and stamina he developed playing hockey transitioned well to football.

"He is unbelievably athletic for an offensive lineman," W&M coach Mike London said. "He's played against all caliber of talent, FBS and FCS, and he's graded out consistently well.

"He's an NFL-type talent. He's the complete package for what they're looking for. A smart guy, a tough guy, who loves football. He has the measurables and is a leader on and off the field."

In the 2018 season opener against Bucknell, Sorsdal became the third true freshman offensive lineman at W&M to start in nearly four decades. A week later, he was at Lane Stadium in front of 65,000-plus fans going against Virginia Tech.

"I messed up on the first drive of that game, but I thought I did OK for a freshman after that," he said. "An experience I'll never forget."

Sorsdal was born in Houston, where he lived for most of his elementary school years. In 2008, when he was in the third grade, his family spent a year in Calgary. It was then, in accordance with Canadian law, he became obsessed with hockey.

"I wasn't very good initially because skating is an important part of hockey," Sorsdal said with a laugh. "But I loved it and stuck with it."

When the Sorsdals returned to Houston a year later, he continued to play at one of the few ice rinks available at Memorial City Mall.

In 2012, the family moved to Pittsburgh — where, following city regulations, he became a Steelers and Penguins fan. Two years later, at the urging of his father, he decided to give football a chance. It was not an auspicious introduction.

"I was playing offensive guard, and I wasn't very good at it," Sorsdal said. "I didn't know how to use my size and leverage."

His father, Cory, was there to help.

"He didn't start as a freshman on the freshman team, and he was the biggest kid out there," said Cory, a former high school lineman. "He was frustrated, so he and I watched some film and made a little tweak to his stance.

"The next game, coach finally put him in at defensive line and on the first two plays, he tackled the ball carrier as soon as he got the handoff. He's aggressive and comfortable with contact. He just needed to be balanced. That gave him the confidence that he could do it."

Going into his senior year at Mount Lebanon, Sorsdal's scholarship offers included FBS members Central Florida and Ball State along with Ivy League schools Dartmouth and Brown. William & Mary was a bit late to the party, but Sorsdal was sold on his official visit.

"I was fortunate to run into some of the guys I'm currently teammates with, like Griffin Gilder and Cory Ryder," Sorsdal said. "We talked ball and college stuff, and I really loved the dynamic they had.
"They welcomed me with open arms. I was like, 'I want to be a part of this football family.'"

An important part of that family has been junior lineman Marcus Crowell.

"Marcus and I have been roommates since freshman year, and I credit a lot of my development both on and off the field to him," Sorsdal said. "We constantly push each other to be the best versions of ourselves."

Set to graduate in the spring with a degree in kinesiology and health sciences, Sorsdal has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Presently, he plans to use both of them. That likely would bring his career number of starts into the 40s.

As a team, the Tribe has no bigger strength going into the season than its offensive line. Five veterans — guards Dan Evers and Ryder, tackles Andrew Trainer and Sorsdal, and center Ryan Ripley — have a combined 75 career starts.

"That shows how much we've put into this game and sacrificed," Sorsdal said. "I'm excited to see what we're going to do this year.

"We're all veterans. When you combine all of our strengths, I think we can do something special."