Author, Author

Judd Garrett answered his phone, and TigerBlog was struck immediately by two things.

First, Judd sounded very much like his older brother Jason. Second, Judd also sounded very much like TigerBlog.

The part about Jason refers to their voices themselves. Vocally, they are very similar.

When it came to content? TB might have been talking to himself at times, for as similar to each other the two were at many times during the conversation.

Judd Garrett is, of course, one of the Garrett brothers, the ones who made such a lasting impact on Princeton football in the 1980s. Jason and Judd Garrett are the only brothers who have ever won the Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Player of the Year, which they did in 1988 (Jason) and 1989 (Judd).

It's a football family, to be sure. Their father Jim was a longtime coach. Jason obviously coached the Dallas Cowboys for 10 years and is now the Giants' offensive coordinator. John is the head coach at Lafayette.

Judd has never been a head coach, but he's a longtime NFL assistant coach and scout. He's also quite a bit more than that.

Judd Garrett recently published his first novel, entitled "No Wind." It's a coming-of-age story, set at the Jersey Shore, with a lot of baseball in it. And with a lot of depth. And with very well-chosen phrasing.

He began writing the story while he was still a Princeton undergrad. That was also when he was setting Princeton football rushing records for yards in a season (1,347) and career (3,109), records that lasted only until Keith Elias came by shortly after Garrett graduated.

Still, all these years later, Elias is the only player who has topped Garrett's numbers. And Garrett's Princeton resume includes leading the team to the 1989 Ivy League championship, its first in 20 years. 

In the 31 years since, Princeton football has won seven more Ivy titles, so that 1989 team deserves a great deal of credit for breaking the championship ice, as it were. 

While doing all of that, Garrett started his novel. Then he added to it, a little at a time, eventually writing to double its final length before he went through a tight editing process.

Garrett would write when he found the time, which wasn't easy, considering that he was a full-time NFL coach. And father. 

He's been through way more than his share of tragedy in his life as well. His first wife Kathy passed away in 2007 at the age of 38, leaving him and their four children. Kathy Garrett was Kathy Kobler when she was a dominant soccer and softball player at Princeton. Garrett would later lose his oldest child as well. Today he is remarried, with two children with his second wife, Erin. 

It's no wonder that his book is filled with depth, emotion, family, questions of faith, thoughts on the randomness of the universe. 

He ran with power and ferocity as a Princeton running back, and that same passion comes through on each page of his novel.

As Judd wrote: "You can come back to your memorable places, but you can never go back to the time that made those places memorable."

Judd is not currently coaching, something he hopes to resume next season. In the meantime, though, he finally had the time to finish his book and get it published.

So why does he remind TB of himself?

TB also recently published a novel. Like Judd, it's also his first. Like Judd's, it also is largely set in a beach town.

And mostly, like Judd, TB wrote his the same way.

They both had an idea of a story. They both had themes to their story. They both had points to make.

And so they both set out to write. They had no outline. They had no plan. They just went where the story took them.

Most people do not write that way. 

When TB spoke to Garrett earlier in the week, he was so struck by how similar their writing philosophies were. And how much obvious pride he had in the accomplishment.

It's the same way TB felt, especially the first time he actually saw the book in publication. TB always wanted to try to write a novel, and he actually started a few times, only to delete it after a few pages because it was awful.

Then he finally started to hit upon the right story. In much the same way as when you read a book that you really like and can't put it down, it was the same way in writing one.

TB is really happy with the way his came out. It's not the same sort of coming-of-age story as Judd's, but it does have many of the same themes. 

Also like Judd, the editing process might have been rougher than the writing of the book. 

So now both are published authors. It's an accomplishment that both will always cherish. That's what really came out from talking to Judd. It's the sense of having set out to do something difficult and having achieved that lifelong goal that they both share.

If you're interested in Judd's book, you can get more information HERE.

If you're interested in TB's book, you can get more information HERE.