Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tollett shines for Shiloh Christian
Youngest of four brothers stands out
SPRINGDALE — Truitt Tollett learned at an early age that if he was going to hang with the big boys, he’d have to prove his mettle. That comes with the territory when you’re the youngest of four brothers.
Shiloh Christian football coach Jeff Conaway and his wife were babysitters for the Tollett boys back in the day when Conaway was an assistant coach on former Saints coach Josh Floyd’s staff. All played for the Saints in their high school days. Conaway said he remembers Truitt’s dogged determination to do whatever the older boys did.
“When I was here last time, he had three older brothers that played in our program — Trent, Travis and Turner,” said Conaway. “When his parents would go out of town, my wife and I would babysit them. Truitt was a little guy. Growing
up with three brothers, they would throw him around the yard or throw him around the pool, and he would try and play against them. We could tell at a very young age that he was a competitor. He did not like to lose. He was very scrappy. He would not care to go up against anybody larger, bigger, taller than him.
“We’ve known that he was an aggressive competitor for some time now.”
Being the youngest and the smallest did not earn Truitt any special treatment from his older siblings. It also fueled an intense competitive nature that has stayed with him through each step of the Saints’ football program, Conaway said.
“His greatest attribute is that he’s a fierce competitor in everything he does,” Conaway said. “He wants to do it better than everyone else and the best of his ability. And I think that is contagious when your best player is like that. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the weight room, it doesn’t matter if it’s on the practice field or the game field, he wants to be the best.”
Tollett is prolific as evidenced by the numbers the senior has put up over twoplus seasons as a wide receiver at Shiloh Christian. A starter since his sophomore season, Tollett (6-foot-2, 179 pounds) has caught 163 passes for 2,571 yards and 29 touchdowns. After a breakout junior season (77-1,183 and 13 touchdowns), he is on pace to blow those numbers out of the water with 56 catches for 947 yards and 13 scores.
He has also been a standout on special teams as well, averaging 21.8 yards per punt return with three resulting in touchdowns.
Tollett is a Shiloh Christian “lifer” and one of 24 seniors on this year’s team. This group set the tone starting as fourth-graders, Tollett said.
“This class has always been very competitive,” said Tollett. “We want to do whatever it takes to win. We might not be the most athletic class that Shiloh’s ever had, but we fit really good together. We all have the same goal, and that’s to win every game and win a state championship.”
Growing up a Saint has been special for Tollett. His older brothers were parts of highly successful teams that helped build the program into a dynasty. On the home pressbox, there are seven years that mark the number of state championships the football team has won.
The last number on the pressbox is 2010, a span of nine seasons. Tollett is hoping to see a new number go up this season after the Saints came so close to it a year ago when it lost in the semifinals against eventual state champion Arkadelphia.
“I was really young in 2010, but I remember a lot of those guys … Keihl Frazier, Garrett Harper, Zan Jones,” Tollett said. “We’re really hungry and hoping for one this year.”
Tollett wears No. 8, the same number as Jones, the record-setting receiver who played on three straight state championship teams from 2008-2010.
“He is a player that I really looked up to,” Tollett said. “He was a great receiver, broke a lot of records. He was friends with my oldest brother Trent. I wouldn’t say he knows me as well as I know him, but he was definitely someone I looked up to as a kid.”
Shiloh Christian (7-0, 4-0 4A-1 Conference) is coming off a 49-18 win against Gentry last week and will host Lincoln tonight. Winning the league title and securing home playoff games are huge when the season moves into late November.
Conaway said what sets
Tollett apart is his staying humble and setting an example for teammates, especially the younger players, to follow.
“Watching him mature and grow into a man has been very special and rewarding,” Conaway said. “His performance on the field, his leadership has been a joy to watch. He’s a team captain and a member of the leadership council.
“I still work out with his older brother and we’re close to him and his brothers. I’ve coached four of them now, so you feel a special relationship with them. To get to see this youngest one grow up the last 15 years has been very special.”