Prospect Watch: Griffin Garnett

Scouting Griffin Garnett, the Richmond Kickers’ star academy center back

The Richmond Kickers are one of the most historic clubs in American soccer, and they’ve got the academy to go along with it. Few teams at any level of the game in this country churn out talented prospects with Richmond’s consistency. Entering 2024, the Kickers signed six youngsters to USL Academy deals and inked two more academy products on full professional contracts.

Few teams match Richmond’s commitment to actually playing those prospects, while we’re at it. Teenagers Beckett Howell, Gabe Cox, Landon Johnson, and Nicholas Simmonds have all made multiple appearances this season, and the latter pair are regular contributors in attack. Simmonds started the first two games of 2024, and he has multiple caps for the Jamaica U-20s already in his young career.

One academy product stands above the rest, and that’s Griffin Garnett. Tied for the team lead in appearances, the 17-year-old has quickly emerged as a high-level central defender in USL League One. Garnett is a converted center mid, and the technique forged in the midfield is evident in his toolbox. 6’2” with a mature read on the game, Garnett has massive potential to star for Richmond and go much, much further thereafter.

Across more than 600 league minutes this season, the 2006-born defender is completing 58.4 passes per match. That’s sixth-ranked among all League One central defenders. Garnett also brings a top-quarter tackle win rate to the table, having won 70% of his attempts, and boasts a 61% duel win rate to boot.

Now, Garnett isn’t without limitations. He’s just 10 for 21 on aerial duels, and there are moments where a lack of aggression comes back to bite in the box. There are tons of flashes in Garnett’s passing game, but he isn’t exactly a quarterback yet. Even so, the tape paints the picture of a player with sky-high potential.

Garnett excels covering space and reading transitional moments. You see that above in three plays evidencing his instincts as a two-way presence in the channel. The first clip is a no-nonsense defensive read. Central Valley plays over Richmond’s elevated full back, but Garnett doesn’t miss a beat moving into the vacant space to clear that dangerous pass over the top.

Compare that to the second play where #38’s agility and sharp changes of direction are on show. Garnett alters his momentum to get wide, knows when to slow down against a potential juke from the Fuego dribbler, and recovers the ball for his efforts. Smartly reading the situation, the teenager doesn’t blindly clear his lines. Garnett dribbles a step upfield to draw the defense, passes to a teammate as he pushes wide, receives on the return, and breaks the counterpress entirely with another slick pass down the sideline.

Though Garnett is a very good passer, he isn’t always consistent. You never see the 17-year-old hit a diagonal, and his 36% long pass completion rate is among League One’s worst at his position. The shorter passes are very good, and he has that rare sort of bend that’s devilishly hard to cut out for opposing defenses, but the command on it isn’t universal. You see that in the third clip in the reel, directly contrasting the successful try from the Fuego game.

Richmond has mostly used a back four this season, but they’ve experimented with a back three in recent weeks. The right-footed Garnett plays on the right side in either case, and he’s used the freedom enabled by the new-ish shape to push upfield to cut down foes.

In the first example above, the 17-year-old steps up from a four-man back line to shadow a Central Valley forward. Garnett’s finesse is on full display, from the measured ability to shoulder away the receiver to the deft turn on the ball from there. Garnett hasn’t conceded a single foul in all of 2024 in the league, but he’s drawn four fouls going the other way. That’s rare for any defender, much less one fresh out of the academy.

Garnett’s appetite for risk higher up the pitch doesn’t always pay off. In the second play shown, the ever-tricky Luis Alvarez from Charlotte drags the ball past Garnett’s challenge, and it’s off to the races. While he’s generally very good in the tackle, the teenager doesn’t quite have the recovery speed to patch over those occasional whiff. He’s mobile and athletic by the standard of a modern center back, but he’s not Usain Bolt.

There’s a certain dichotomy to Garnett’s game as a defender. He’s never afraid to put a body on an opponent to deny a pass outside of the 18-yard box. In his area, however, Garnett can lack assertion. The teenager has model size and is strong for his age cohort, but he can lose runners or simply not do enough to limit their availability where it counts.

Though the first play above eventually sees Garnett get a foot on the ball before it ends up in the goalkeeper’s arms, it’s still an example of momentary passivity. Take stock of the situation: #38 knows there isn’t an attacker to his right, but the aforementioned Alvarez is very visibly teeing up a near-post run to his left.

Garnett obviously doesn’t want Alvarez to feint to the left and then cut across his body to pursue a lofted cross. Even so, you still want more defensive commitment from #38 to the runner. Garnett recovers well, and blocking the shot makes up for the slightly slow reaction, but a more skillful finisher could’ve made Richmond pay.

The second example does end in a concession for the Kickers. The 17-year-old is in the heart of the box with Knoxville possessing wide to the right, and the opposing striker is mere inches away from Garnett. When Knoxville serves in, their forward stutter-steps away from Garne, and it results in a goal.

Again, it’s a difficult situation, but the way #38 manipulates his body reveals a lot. Garnett hops deep toward his own net initially, so his momentum is committed goalwards. Meanwhile, the Knoxville striker is moving the exact opposite way. Played differently, this sequence could’ve ended in a block for Garnett, but it’s a free-ish shot instead.

Neither play here is anywhere close to disastrous, and to call these plays “mistakes” from Garnett feels harsh. Still, the best central defenders cut out passes and body up to runners in these scenarios. These moments show that Garnett still has room to grow as an intervenor in the box.

I quibble like that because Garnett is so good at leveraging his frame everywhere else on the pitch. He’s absolutely not a dirty player, but he can go tete-a-tete when an opponent initiates a battle.

You get two sequences to that end above, plays that exemplify the Kickers starlet’s strength and poise in equal measure. The first play is a good-ol’-fashioned tussle, one where Garnett bumps a striker to the ground without picking up a foul. When he recovers the errant pass, the Kickers man looks forward to beat the counterpress in one fell swoop.

Same idea in the second play. #38 rides the back of a Fuego attacker, using his arms to shrug that opponent out of the way when against an incoming pass. With that player compromised, Garnett can jump the lane to intercept. Again, the defensive action is follow by an intelligent possessive read. There isn’t a clean downfield receiver for Richmond, so Garnett circles the wagons and resets to a teammate in open space.

Darren Sawatzky and the Kickers organization deserve credit for fostering the Richmond native’s development and allowing him to grow on the job. Garnett is special in that he’s mature enough to succeed with starter-level minutes as a teenager. Even when he makes mistakes, he continues to read the game and quickly atone for them.

That’s the case in our last clip. Garnett receives as the Kickers play out from the back, but his first touch runs heavy and is taken away by a Charlotte player. Even so, #38 turns on a dime and never lets the interceptor beat him around the edge.

When the Independence man cuts back toward the middle, it would be very easy for Garnett to overcommit. He doesn’t do so. Instead, the 17-year-old hands the carrier off to a central teammate, spots another Independence attacker cutting against his momentum, and steps in the way of the pass to intercept. It’s a wonderful defensive read, and it’s followed up by a leading ball that puts Richmond right onto the counter.

These are the moments that show why Griffin Garnett is special. The defender has prototypical size, an impressive and improving passing game, and a sense of intelligence far beyond his years. If he keeps contributing at the League One level, national team attention and a move up the pyramid could be in Garnett’s future sooner rather than later.